


Lusus Naturae

by loonachos



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band), LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2019-11-09 03:32:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 43
Words: 78,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17994047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonachos/pseuds/loonachos
Summary: Vampire fic. Jungeun and Jiwoo have been best friends for the longest time. Died together, just to come back from the dead together. They watched everyone else around them cease to exist and now that their kind are being hunted, without a clan, their chances of surviving is low.





	1. HUNTED

**Author's Note:**

> um... not me starting another fic when i already have other unfinished ones. like always, i never plan things, so this will be updated when it updates.

“Jungeun!” The girl with the messy bangs yelled.

“Run! Jiwoo, please, you need to run!” The slightly shorter girl yelled back.

Jiwoo didn’t listen. She ran back with blood running down her face, blocking most of her vision. She quickly wiped at it with the back of her hand as she ran as fast as she could. Before she could reach her friend, bullets whizzed by barely missing her.

“Get up!” She demanded, taking a hold of Jungeun’s arm.

“My leg.” Jiwoo looked down to see a bullet wound on the other girl’s thigh. At least it went straight through and wasn’t lodged somewhere causing more damage, she thought.

“You’ve had worse, now get up,” Jiwoo commanded through gritted teeth, still tugging at the brunette.

Jungeun complied, taking the offering hand before she slung her arm over Jiwoo’s shoulder for support.

They moved as fast as they could, but with the injuries they both sustained, the humans were catching up quicker than they thought.

“I’m not healing fast enough.” Blood was dripping down Jungeun’s leg and it didn’t seem like it would stop any time soon.

Jiwoo ignored her as they kept on running. They both knew the hunter’s weapons were laced with poison. She could feel it in her system with the arrow still stuck in her side. The tip of it didn’t exit the back of her body. It was still sitting there, spreading the poison around. If she didn’t get it out soon, Jiwoo didn’t know how much longer she could run as she felt more light headed by the second.

Jungeun sensed her friend’s pain and veered off to the side. They didn’t slow down until they got to a fallen tree. She took her arm off of Jiwoo’s shoulder before helping the girl sit down.

“You can’t keep running around like that.” Jungeun pointed at the arrow.

Jiwoo nodded, knowing what they had to do already. This wasn’t the first time they’ve been shot at with arrows.

“You ready?” Jungeun asked as she gripped the end.

Jiwoo nodded again, clasping her hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Her other hand on Jungeun’s shoulder

“I’m sorry,” the brunette said quietly as she counted to three before breaking the arrow so that only a few inches of it was still sticking out of Jiwoo’s stomach.

Jiwoo silently screamed into her hand as pain erupted through her body. Her fingers dug into Jungeun’s shoulder, probably breaking the skin, but her friend stayed still for the initial pain to pass. For a moment her world turned completely white before black came again. When her senses came back, she felt her head on Jungeun’s chest as her partner held her tight.

“They couldn’t have gotten far!” They heard a voice too close for comfort. 

“They’re probably just hiding somewhere. Fan out.” Another gave the order.

“Can you stand?” Jungeun asked as she held Jiwoo’s face in her hands.

The redhead nodded, still a bit dazed. “Can you?”

“Yeah,” she simply said before struggling to get up to her feet. She reached down to help Jiwoo do the same. They both wobbled for a second before making their way slowly from the hunters. 

It wasn’t always like this. There was a time when vampires thrived. There was a treaty between the two kinds. Hunters only hunted those who killed humans and vampires who wanted to be left alone only fed on animals or blood bags. There were also willing humans who got a high and wanted a trill from their blood being sucked, but the human council was not fond of that idea, shutting down the illegal feeding rings. They started viewing every one of them as threats again. Soon, hunters hunted whoever they wanted and peaceful vampires were forced out of hiding and to go on the run.

The two weren’t newborns, but they weren’t old enough either. They grew up in a time where they didn’t need to learn how to fight, but now, it seemed like that was all they did. They’ve only killed to not be killed, but that put them on the high-risk list of threats. And so they ran and hid, but hiding never lasted long when you’re being actively tracked. 

They ran blindly. The trees getting thicker as they got deeper into the woods. They weren’t going to make it at this rate, and at that thought, their running stopped as they crashed into something. 

Someone.

Her eyes were dark, but they could see it through the night. Her hair as dark as her eyes and her expression just as cold.

They heard a click and turned around to a see a hunter standing there with his gun pointed up. He looked terrified to see that there was another vampire with them, but they weren’t even sure if this one was a friendly or not.

Before either parties could process the situation, the man’s head snapped quickly to the side and was ripped completely off as they watched the rest of his body collapse onto the ground.

Another woman stood behind him. Blonde this time, about as tall. And before they knew it, they were surrounded by four vampires altogether. 

Without much strength left, Jiwoo fell to her knees and grunted from the pain. The dark haired vampire behind them reached down to take ahold of her.

“Don’t touch her!” Jungeun growled out, baring her teeth.

The vampire ignored her and lifted Jiwoo up in her arms. The girl couldn’t argue, drifting in and out of consciousness.

“If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it already, don’t you think?” The blonde walked up to them along with two others. The two were both shorter than her, but obviously older by the way they carried themselves. “Are you going to make a fuss if I lift you up too?”

“What do you want?” Jungeun snarled without taking her eyes off of Jiwoo and the woman that had her.

“Well, for one, you’re not going to last long with that nasty poison running through your bodies,” a short haired woman spoke. “We can help. Please, let us.” Her voice was monotone, but didn’t sound like she was lying.

Jungeun slowly nodded. They didn’t have a choice. If she refused help, they would surely die, but if these four wanted to kill them, they’d be dead either way. “But I can walk on my own.”

“Oh love, it’d be much easier and faster if I just carried you.” The blonde gave out an almost innocent looking smile. “Now don’t be stubborn.”

Jungeun hesitated, but sighed. “Fine.”

The vampire smiled again before approaching her. “Now up you go.” She easily lifted the small brunette up in her arms as they made there way to god knows where.

Sensing Jungeun wanted to keep an eye on the half conscious redhead, the tall dark haired woman went first before the blonde followed.

“We’ll take care of the rest of the hunters and catch up,” a pink haired woman said, giving off a little salute while dragging the other one along.

It took five minutes at most before they reached a mansion deep within the woods. 

The blonde set Jungeun down once they were inside and reached the dining room. She then cleared the glass table before the other vampire carefully placed Jiwoo on it and walked out of the room. Jungeun was by her side in a second, reaching over for a cushion to put under Jiwoo’s head. 

“Jungeun-ah.” Jiwoo’s voice was soft as they held hands.

“Hey, you’re gonna be fine okay?” Jungeun reassured her, brushing her bangs that were covered with blood out of her face.

“Get me my supplies would you?” Jungeun turned to see the other two vampires already back. The pink haired one nodded and disappeared off, while the short haired woman walked over to the table.

“I’m Haseul and the blonde is Jinsol.” She rolled up her sleeves and checked Jiwoo over. “Keep talking to your friend.”

Jungeun did what she said.

The dark haired vampire re-entered the room and handed a small towel over to Haseul. “You’re going to have to bite down on this okay?” she told Jiwoo, who opened her mouth for the towel to be placed in. “That’s Sooyoung and pinky over there is Vivi,” she said while moving her eyes between the two injured.

Jungeun nodded again in acknowledgment. “Jungeun. My friend’s Jiwoo.”

“Good.” Haseul smiled. “Okay, Jiwoo, this is going to hurt okay? But I need you to be as still as you can. Can you do that for me?”

Jiwoo nodded and felt Jungeun squeeze her hand tighter.

“Hold her down,” Haseul said to Jinsol who already was, but wanted to say every order out loud so that the two younger ones knew what was happening. “Take in a deep breath.”

Jiwoo did what was told before letting out a muffled scream as Haseul pulled the end of the arrow free from her side. “You’re doing great, love.” The short haired woman placed another towel over the wound and told Jinsol to put pressure on it before taking a few things out of her med kit that Vivi brought over.

The dark haired woman, Sooyoung, bit her own wrist, took out the towel from Jiwoo’s mouth once she calmed a little, and replaced it with her now bleeding wrist. 

Jiwoo drank slowly, being too weak to do much but nibble at the wrist. 

“Well she be okay?” Jungeun asked, still holding onto her friend’s hand.

“Too early to tell, but she’s drinking, so that’s good,” Haseul replied. “This is some ground up herbs that will absorb the poison out of her system. I’m going to need you to sit down so that Vivi could do the same for you.”

Sensing Jungeun’s hesitation from being away from Jiwoo, Haseul continued, “don’t worry, I’ll do what I can for your friend, but you’re no use to her dead, so I suggest you do as I say.”

Jungeun nodded before leaning down to kiss Jiwoo on the forehead and muttered a quiet “I love you”. 

She then took a seat before Vivi came over and kneeled down in front of her. “Hey, darling, I’m going to need you to place your leg on this chair.” She did what she was told and watched as the pink haired woman started putting on the mushy looking herbs onto her wound as well.

“She’s resting now. The bleeding has stopped, but it’ll take some time to heal.” Jungeun looked back to see Jiwoo with her eyes closed and Sooyoung licking the wound on her wrist.

Jungeun couldn’t remember the last time another vampire helped them. They’ve been on their own for a very long time, not belonging to any clan. It was a risk, they knew it. Without a clan, vampires didn’t survive for long. They were just easy targets for hunting groups that outnumbered them. But everyone they knew was dead. They only had each other and they thought that it was enough, but nights like this proved them otherwise.


	2. SILVER LINING

“You’re awake,” the blonde from before stated the obvious.

“What have you done with Jungeun?” Jiwoo bolted up quickly, getting away from the hand that was petting her hair, but regretted it when she felt pain shoot through her body.

“Your friend is fine. She refused to eat without you. Kind of had to make her though.” The blonde stood up. “I suggest you not move too quickly. That wound was pretty nasty, but we managed to take care of it.” She tilted her head to the side. “Come with me. I’m Jinsol by the way. There are others, so don’t be alarmed. They chose me to watch over you because I look the least threatening apparently.” She smiled softly before walking farther into the gigantic house. 

Jiwoo hesitated, but got off the couch to follow along. She kept her distance, still wary of the stranger, wincing as her wound healed ever so slowly from the poison. She couldn’t remember much, having been too close to death.

“Least threatening, as if I didn’t just rip a man’s head off,” Jinsol muttered under her breath as she scratched the back of her head.

They reached the kitchen that looked homier than she would have thought. 

“Jiwooming!” Jiwoo eyes reached her friend and quickly ran to her side. “Are you okay?”

Jiwoo nodded.

“Look, they gave me a wheelchair and everything.”

“Don’t you dare pop a wheelie,” Jiwoo warned, already knowing what Jungeun was going to do. She kneeled down and searched the girl of her injuries to find them all neatly bandaged up. “Are you okay?” She asked back, placing her hand on the brunette’s face, although the girl looked fine considering how they were on the verge of being killed not too long ago.

“Mmhmm,” Jungeun responded, placing her hand over the one Jiwoo had on her before pulling it away and intertwined their fingers as the redhead stood up.

Jiwoo looked around to see all four pair of eyes on them, silently watching them. 

“Haseul’s basically our medic. She got the poison out and closed everything up.” The blonde known as Jinsol said pointing at a short haired woman, breaking the silence.

“Thank you,” Jiwoo said quietly, still trying to process everything that’s happening. She for sure thought they were goners.

“My pleasure.” The woman smiled, taking a sip of blood out of her wine glass.

“What do you guys want in return?” No one ever helped anyone out from the kindness of their hearts these days. Not that any of them really had actual hearts anyways. They had to be careful.

Jinsol smiled softly again and pointed at a seat at the kitchen island. “How about we eat first?”

Jiwoo didn’t want to owe them anything else and looked at Jungeun who only nodded. She hesitated, but sat down on the seat anyways.

A pink haired woman passed her a glass of blood along with a plate of human food. It’s been a long time since they got to sit down and eat like this. They were nothing but skin and bones, having fed on nothing but small rodents here and there. It was hard finding food when humans were everywhere. Even hunting for animals in the woods became harder.

“I’m Vivi.” The woman extended her hand.

“Jiwoo.” She shook her hand and eyes landed on the woman with the long dark hair, who hasn’t spoken. “Thank you for the food.”

“No problem.” Vivi followed Jiwoo’s gaze. “The ice princess over there is Sooyoung.”

The said woman scoffed, moving her food around with her fork, not looking in their direction.

“Be nice Sooyoungie,” Vivi said in a teasing tone as she walked over and placed a hand at the small of the woman’s back, giving her a quick peck on the side of her head.

Jinsol laughed causing Sooyoung to glare, but didn’t say anything, going back to playing with her food.

Jiwoo picked up the glass and looked over to Jungeun who was watching her. 

“Drink. You need to heal.” 

Jiwoo nodded, lifting the glass to her lips, taking a moment to smell the blood before taking a small sip. She raised her eyebrows.

Human blood.

As if Jinsol knew what she was thinking, the blonde spoke up, “couldn’t let those hunters go to waste right?”

It’s been an even longer time since she tasted human blood, let alone fresh human blood at that. Not as fresh and warm as biting into someone’s neck, but it was almost as close.

“Thank you for saving us and the hospitality, but we should get going after the meal,” Jiwoo announced right away, afraid that she could get used to this.

“What are you going to do? It’s not like your friend could wheelchair herself out of the woods and you’re in no condition to even be moving around much.” The “medic” pointed out.

“Why are you helping us?”

“Jiwoo,” Jungeun started.

“No Jungeun. I don’t know what you guys talked about while I was out, but no one helps anyone without wanting something in return,” Jiwoo argued back.

“The four of us talked. Would you believe us if we said we’re a bit bored and maybe you two are a bit, how should I put it,” Jinsol used a finger to tap her chin as if she was thinking for the right word, “cute?”

“Jinsol,” Haseul scolded the blonde.

“What?” Jinsol said throwing her hands up in defense.

“What she meant was that, you guys seem to be alone. You don’t have a clan I assume?” Haseul continued, taking over the role of explaining.

They both shook their heads.

“We’re not saying that we’re taking you in, but maybe that is what we’re trying to say.”

“What do you mean by that?” Jungeun questioned.

“We’ve been in different clans, but in the end, it’s always just been us four. Maybe we’re ready to try again, to add more to our clan,” Haseul said swirling her glass as if actual wine was in it. “A trial run you could say. Only if you two agree of course, but I do insist you stay with us a little longer even if you decide to decline our offer. Stay the night at least until you’re healed. There’s no point going off getting yourselves killed after we just spent our time tending to your wounds. Be such a waste if something were to happen to you two again.”

The two younger ones looked at each other. They’ve been together for so long that could already tell what the other was thinking with just eye contact.

“We’ll stay the night,” Jiwoo hesitated, but agreed, and Jungeun nodded along.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Haseul smiled, finishing the rest of the blood.

“If you guys like, we’re actually leaving this place tomorrow once the sun sets. The scent of the hunters and your blood are too strong even if we got rid of their bodies. We don’t know when the dogs will get here, so if you wanted to tag along for a bit, you can do that too,” Jinsol added on, not ready for the two injured ones to leave so soon.

They looked at each other again before Jungeun spoke up, “We’d like that. A trial run right?”

Jinsol smiled, her eyes lighting up. “A trial run,” she repeated.

“We’re sorry that you all have to leave your home because of us.” Jiwoo did feel guilty for all they’ve done for them.

“Don’t be silly. We never stay at a location for too long. This place isn’t even ours. We’ve only settled in for about two weeks or so.” The pink haired woman spoke up this time. “It was getting a tad,” she clicked her teeth, “dull.”

“Jinsol, why don’t you show our guests to their rooms once they’re finished eating?” Haseul said putting away her already empty plate and glass into the sink. “Sooyoung, please don’t play with your food.”

The said woman grumbled before shoving a fork full of food into her mouth and downed the rest of her glass.

Vivi let out a small chuckle and went to clear the rest of Sooyoung’s plate onto her own, knowing the taller one wasn’t in the mood to eat.

“Is it okay if we just share one room?” Jungeun asked, using her hands to move her wheelchair back and forth in a nervous fidgeting manner.

“Of course. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.” Haseul walked over to pick up their empty plates. “Don’t worry about it, I got it. Just go make yourselves at home,” she said as Jiwoo stood up, trying to help.

“Are you girls ready?” Jinsol made her way over to the wheelchair as the girls nodded. “Do you need Sooyoung to carry you again?”

Jiwoo looked up in surprise to know that the tall icy looking woman was the one to carry her here in the first place. “Um, no, I’m okay.”

Jinsol looked down at Jungeun. “But I’m going to have to carry you up now because of the stairs, so you have no choice.”

Jungeun didn’t argue and let the blonde pick her up once again.

“I don’t think she likes us much,” Jungeun spoke once she was in Jinsol’s arms and out of the kitchen.

“Who? Sooyoungie?” Jinsol asked with amusement on her face. “Would you believe me if I told you that she’s just shy? She’ll warm up to you, don’t worry.”

“She hasn’t said a word,” Jiwoo said as they reached the top of the stairs. “Maybe we’ll just stay the night.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We all want you here. If Sooyoung didn’t like the idea, she would have spoken up. She’s not one to follow along if she doesn’t like something.” Jinsol motioned for Jiwoo to open one of the many doors. “There’s already everything you should need in the closet and in the restroom. If you need anything else, I’m just a door down to the left, but Sooyoung’s a light sleeper, so try to be quiet. Or actually, if you feel more comfortable, Haseul and Vivi are staying in the next room over mine.” She carefully placed Jungeun down on the bed.

“Thank you for everything. I really mean it.” Jiwoo stuck her hand out for a handshake of appreciation, but Jinsol looked at it for a moment before pulling the shorter girl into a light hug.

Jiwoo let out a small yelp, but let the blonde do as she pleased.

“Yeah, for sure. It’s been awhile since we’ve come across such nice vampies.” Jinsol smiled, a little of her fangs showing. “And please don’t feel intimidated by Sooyoung. She really is just a bit awkward.”

They both smiled back and thanked Jinsol once again before the blonde exited.

“Sorry I left you alone for a bit. They insisted I had to eat right away because of the poison,” Jungeun said shifting on the bed to get into a better sitting position.

“No, it’s fine. Just a little surprised to wake up to someone petting my head that wasn’t you.” Jiwoo ran a hand through her hair, only now feeling the stitches right below her hairline. 

“They seem nice.”

“Too nice. Don’t you think this is too good to be true?”

“We’ve been on our own for way too long, Jiwoo. Maybe we really should just give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, they said we could always leave right?”

“Do you believe them? That they’d just let us leave.”

“Well, we kind of have to now since we’re already here. I’m not saying to fully trust them. We’ll keep our guard up, but at the same time, maybe this is the silver lining we need.”

“I don’t want to have my hopes up too much, but you’re right. We do need a break.” Jiwoo paused. “Plus the blood they supplied was good.” She let out a small laugh for the first time that night, trying not to forget the taste of how amazing everything was after just scraping by for food for so long.

Jungeun laughed along before pulling Jiwoo in for a hug and kissing the top of her head.


	3. COLD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just because i am updating quickly now, doesn't mean it'll always be like this. just saying.

“Time to get up.”

Jungeun groaned in response and tried to stretch out, but was unable to when a body behind her had a vice grip on her waist and arm. She turned her head a bit and could only see red hair up against her neck.

“Already?” Jungeun asked, taking notice of the blonde that was in front of her, on the side of the bed. 

“The sun’s still out a bit, but the dogs are here faster than we anticipated.” Jinsol nodded her head over at Jiwoo, who still hasn’t moved.

“You’d think she’s human by the way she likes to “sleep” even though we don’t even technically need to,” Jungeun teased, already knowing the redhead was listening, but just didn’t want to get up.

“You’re pretty warm for a vampire,” Jiwoo mumbled into the brunette’s neck and finally unwrapped herself to acknowledge Jinsol’s presence.

The woman smiled at them before heading out. “You got five minutes. We’ll be waiting downstairs.”

“Are you healed?” Jungeun asked throwing the covers off of both of them.

Jiwoo hummed in response, but didn’t need to ask the same when Jungeun swung her legs off the bed to stand up, making her way to the restroom as Jiwoo followed suit. They quickly took off the now unnecessary bandages and changed to clothes that was provided before heading down to meet the others.

“Drink.” Vivi greeted them first with a gatorade bottle full of blood.

“Thanks for the thirst quencher.” Jungeun wasted no time to down her bottle, having been still hungry from her previous injuries.

Jinsol was the only one who seemed to get Jungeun’s gatorade joke and laughed out loud while the other three vampires stared at her questioningly, but didn’t say anything. Jiwoo rolled her eyes, being used to the girl’s lame jokes.

“We tried to throw the bodies and mask the blood around the area, but the dogs they got out here are pretty good. They’re close, but we still have time to move, so I suggest we go now.” They haven’t asked, but the way Haseul always took charge made them assume she was leader of the clan.

None of them took any belongings with them except for Jinsol who had on a small backpack, making her look like she was ready for her first day of grade school. They can now see why everyone says Jinsol looks the least threatening out of the four.

They made their way through the back, going the opposite direction of where the hunters came from.

“I’m still trying to understand why you guys would want to keep us around. What do we bring to the table that you don’t already have?” Jiwoo questioned, unconsciously taking ahold of Jungeun’s hand.

“Did we not already say? To add more to the clan. It’s barely one with just four.” Haseul answered, but didn’t look annoyed that they kept asking the same question. “And we were out hunting. You guys just happen to run our way. Can’t have pesky humans coming to our place right? If we left you two out to die in the woods, the dogs would have found you and then come knocking on our door.”

“I mean, we could have just burned your bodies, but Jinsol did have a point. You two are cute,” Vivi spoke up this time, smirking.

“That’s not enough reason to keep us around,” Jungeun retorted back.

Haseul sighed. “We really were just going to patch you two up and let you go on your way, but then, your presence felt awfully familiar,” she paused in her walk and turned around to face them, “tell me, who sired you?”

The two looked at each other. “We don’t know. We woke up together, with no one else around,” Jiwoo said, holding Jungeun’s hand tighter. “I think we killed more people than we could remember that night.”

“Poor kittens, left to your own devices with such hunger and no guidance,” Jinsol cooed at them trying to squeeze in between them to hold their hands.

“Jinsol, they are not your pets,” Haseul scolded, pulling the blonde back by her backpack.

“No, but they could be my babies right?” She looked moving from one girl to the other with such innocence in her eyes.

“Um…” Jiwoo didn’t know how to respond while Jungeun gave out an awkward smile.

“Jinsol, leave them alone,” Haseul warned again and started to walk, a little faster this time.

The blonde pouted before slumping her shoulders and making her way to Sooyoung, clinging to her arm. The dark haired woman didn’t even budge at the contact, paying no attention to Jinsol.

“Please don’t mind her. Jinsol tends to want to show love to the,” Vivi clicked her teeth, which started to seem like a habit of hers, “I don’t want to call you two strays, but that is what you are, am I not right?” 

“It’s fine.” Jiwoo gave out a little smile, not wanting to admit out loud that she kind of liked the attention. Jungeun gave her a look out of the corner of her eye, probably thinking the same thing.

It has always been just them two. Sure they’ve been in different clans before, but it was only out of safety in numbers. It was never about having the clan’s back or anything. When it came down to it, they were only ever willing to risk their lives for each other and no one else.

Haseul stopped in her tracks again, followed by Sooyoung who was looking around the woods. 

“Already? They were only coming in one direction just a moment ago.” Haseul looked up at the sky to see the sun setting through the thick covering of trees. “At least it’ll be night soon.” They were stronger without ball of fire.

“These dogs getting smarter or what?” Jinsol took off her backpack and rummaged through it before pulling a few things out. She walked over to the two younger ones and handed each a small silver blade that was wrapped in cloth. “You’ll stay close to me, won’t you?”

“I get the tiny one this time,” Vivi said running her hand down Jungeun’s arm before taking a hold of her hand. Jungeun looked down at her hand being held and then to Jiwoo, who just shrugged.

“She’s taller than you,” Jinsol deadpanned.

“I meant tinier compared to Jiwoo, geez.” Vivi pouted and leaned into Jungeun, who didn’t seem to take offense of being called tiny.

“I like your height, love.” Jinsol patted the top of the pink haired woman’s head, but stopped when she got a glare from Haseul.

“Now’s not the time. Keep moving, it’s better to run into one group than get surrounded.” Haseul was already ahead, while Sooyoung let everyone else pass her this time before taking her place in the back of the group.

They didn’t even get far when they heard a low growl. Turning around, they saw Sooyoung with their backs towards them ready to attack whatever came from the trees.

The eyes came first, glowing yellow, and then its teeth.

An arrow shot through the trees before the creature made its full entrance. They watched as Sooyoung dropped to one knee and the wolf came jumping out at her. She threw the arrow that was caught inches from her face and rolled to the side, the beast landing to where she just was. Not wasting time, the tall vampire got up her feet and leaped on the enemy’s back. 

The hunter stepped out of the trees and tried shooting another arrow, but Haseul was by his side within seconds. He didn’t even have time to be scared for his life as she ran her sharp nails across his neck. He stood there frozen as blood poured out, and the shorter woman grabbed his weapon out of his hands before he could even fall to the ground.

She aimed the crossbow at the wolf that was currently trying to shake Sooyoung off. The arrow made its way into its side as it yelped and started running, trying to shake even harder. 

“You can fight, yes?” Jinsol pushed Jiwoo behind her.

“Of course.” Jiwoo’s fangs were already out, blade up, ready to hold her ground.

There was no growl this time, just eyes before another jumped out in the same direction as the other. 

Jinsol ran for it before it could make its way into Sooyoung’s battle. Jiwoo followed close behind. This one was a lot smaller in comparison, but faster as it swiped at Jinsol, who barely had time to move out of the way. 

“Filthy dog,” the blonde snarled at it and jumped for its back as well, but again, it was quick. This time running for Jiwoo.

The redhead ran at the beast as well, waiting for the jump as she slide down to the ground and thrusted the blade up. It only nicked at the wolf and watched as it flew over her, missing her completely.

She heard a cry of pain and turned around to see Jinsol with an arrow sticking out of her left shoulder, the tip of it exiting straight through. The pain quickly turned into anger as the woman reached over with her other arm to break the arrow from the back and pulled the other half of it through the front. She snapped the already broken piece in half again in one hand before tossing it to the ground.

Jiwoo ran for Jinsol as she saw another arrow fly through the air. She tackled the taller vampire. The arrow hitting nothing but tree. 

The small wolf came back charging at them. The both of them already up on their feet. Jinsol pushed Jiwoo behind her again and held her ground this time. As if her wound had no affect on her, she jumped for the beast, sinking her teeth into its neck. The wolf shook its head and swiped at Jinsol, who landed on her feet snarling. 

The blonde may look the least threatening among the four, but at this moment, it didn’t look like anything could stop her. She was ready to attack again when another wolf came from behind. Its fur almost had a light pink tint to it. And as if there wasn’t enough pink, Vivi tackled it before it could reach Jinsol. 

Jiwoo was almost too distracted to see yet, another arrow through the trees coming towards her. She moved out of the way last second, seeing the arrow fly right before her eyes. She turned to look at the shooter to only see Jungeun behind him, her sharp incisors digging into his neck, blade deep into his back as if her bite wasn’t enough.

The wolf with an arrow sticking out of its body was now on its side. It took shallow breaths before shapeshifting back to a human, too weak to keep its animal form. The girl looked like a bloody mess after Sooyoung and Haseul got through with her, but before they could attack again, the two other wolves came running in front, protecting her.

“Three wolves and a few measly hunters for six vampires?” Haseul stood there with the crossbow still in hand, though it was by her side rather than pointed up. She then scoffed, throwing the weapon onto the ground as if she didn’t even feel threatened by the enemies.

The pink tinted wolf growled at them as the smaller one licked the wounds of the tall injured girl on the ground.

“I suggest you let us go on our way unless you want us to finish you off.” Haseul’s voice was calm, almost monotone like the night the two younger vampires ran into the four.

The growling one huffed and kneeled down on its hind legs as if indicating a sign for surrender.

Haseul gave a little nod and motioned for everyone to keep moving in the direction they were originally heading towards. She kept watch of them, walking backwards slowly before turning around once they got a bit farther.

When they were out of sight, Jinsol let out a little groan and held onto her shoulder, finally showing some sign of weakness. Sooyoung was by her side right away, taking ahold of her other arm.

“You need to drink.” It was the first time they heard the icy looking vampire speak.

“I’m fine.” Jinsol tried to shrug the girl off, but Sooyoung kept her grip. “I took out the arrow right when it hit.”

“You still need to drink.” Sooyoung didn’t take no for an answer and bit her wrist to offer to the blonde.

Jinsol sighed and drank a little before Sooyoung took her wrist back, licking at the wound.

Jiwoo frowned as she began to remember bits and pieces of when she was injured, laying on the dining room table. It was Sooyoung who had done the same for her. Here she was thinking that the woman wasn’t fond of them, but vampires only offered their own blood to those they were close with.

“You let me drink your blood.” Jiwoo stated. She was confused and wanted to know the reason behind the woman’s action.

Sooyoung stopped the licking to look at the redhead. “Yes.” It was the first word she heard directed at her.

“Why?”

The vampire tilted her head. “Do you not want to live?” Her voice was quieter than the rest of the clan.

“It’s not that,” Jiwoo voice trailed off.

Sensing the confusion, Sooyoung spoke again, “your presence.” She again tilted her head, but to the other side this time. “You remind me of someone.”

The redhead raised her eyebrows. She wanted to ask more, but Sooyoung’s attention was already off of her as she went back to checking on Jinsol.

She looked at Jungeun who had slid her hand into her own once again. It was a habit. Their hands were like magnets.

It was the first time they had the upper hand in a fight in a long time. Everything felt so long ago. Fighting alongside others was almost foreign to them. They could get used to this and it was a scary thought to think about. They both knew they couldn’t completely rely on their new found “allies”. Other people in their lives never lasted long. Everyone else disappointed them one way or another in the end.


	4. GUESTS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chuulip holding hands at the beginning of the butterfly dance practice motivated me to write, though there isn't much chuulip in this chapter...

“Why are we heading into human territory?” Jungeun looked around to see people everywhere on the busy street.

“Supplies,” came the simple answer from Haseul who kept her fast pace throughout the walk. 

They passed by restaurants and other stores before heading into an alley that was only lit up by decorative Christmas lights. They stopped by a door at the end and made their way in. 

“Back so soon?” A voice could be heard from within the shop as they entered. 

“What? You don’t want to see us?” Jinsol asked in a playful tone.

“Oh, come on Unnie, you know I love having you guys around.” A girl with purple hair stood up from behind the counter and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, you’ve brought guests. You never bring guests.”

“Yerim, this is Jiwoo and Jungeun. This is Yerim, the shop owner.” Haseul introduced the three.

“Nice to meet you.” The girl smiled brightly and walked over to shake their hands.

“Likewise.” Jiwoo had an equally bright smile on her face.

“Nice to meet you too.” Jungeun shook her hand and took notice that it was warm. She should have known the purple haired girl was a human from the start, but didn’t think a clan like this would have any acquaintances with anyone outside of their own kind.

Yerim gasped as Jinsol took off her jacket, now only seeing the wound on the shoulder. “Unnie! Sit down while I get you something for that.” She rushed off to a shelf full of herbs in jars and tossed a few into one of the empty mason jars on the side that was there for customers.

The other vampires were scattered throughout the store, browsing and picking up a few things here and there.

Jinsol had taken off her shirt to dispose into the trash can besides the counter before taking a seat at a stool. She didn’t seem to be in any pain as she sighed at having to throw away another shirt.

Yerim combined the herbs along with other ingredients into a mortar and started to mix them. “I thought you guys found some secluded place.”

“These two somehow managed to come into our neck of the woods,” Vivi said, sitting down on another stool besides Jinsol. She had her elbows on the counter and chin on her hands, looking bored. 

“Are you guys from around here?” Yerim asked the two as she applied the herbs onto Jinsol’s injury.

“No. We were trying to get away from hunters, but they’re in every city, so I guess word got around that some strays were around.” Jungeun made a face, looking at a jar that was filled with liquid and what looked like a bunch of roots.

The bell at the door rang, signaling that someone else has entered the shop.

“Hello, welcome to Cheorry’s Cave,” Yerim greeted with another bright smile, putting down the pestle.

The others didn’t need to look to know what kind of visitors were by the door.

“We were surprised to find your scent so close to crowds of people.” The tallest of the three new guests ignored Yerim’s greeting and walked around the shop to examine her surroundings.

“What is it that you want?” Haseul finally looked up from the current book she was reading from one of the couches.

Vivi got up from the stool to sit on Sooyoung’s lap, who was also on the same couch. She knew the taller one would have gotten up and caused more trouble than needed. She got a huff of air in response, but only smiled down at the angry looking face before nuzzling herself into the crook of Sooyoung’s neck.

“You killed several hunters and injured a few of my pack members.” 

“Well, your hunters tried to kill some of my clan members, so it was fair game to kill them, don’t you think?” The short haired woman stood up as the tall one approached. Haseul was more than a head shorter, but didn’t look intimidated by the height difference. “And as of your pack. They did attack first, am I not right?”

The other woman narrowed her eyes. “I know you. Haseul is it? I’ve heard a lot about you and not once have I heard that your clan consisted of more than four bloodsuckers.”

Haseul gave out a little laugh and shrugged. “They’re a bit new. Cute aren’t they?”

“They’re wanted.”

“Why? Too afraid to go after big fish that all you can do is take out strays? And I haven’t heard about you. You must be new to the game too.”

“Nayoung and you better remember it, because this city belongs to us and you’re trespassing.” The said girl let out a snarl and got closer to the shorter woman.

Haseul laughed again. “Kid, we’ve been here before you were even born.”

Nayoung was now standing right in front of Haseul.

“Ah.” Yerim stepped forward. “You really must be new here, because this is neutral ground. No harm can be done while you’re in the shop.”

Nayoung whipped her head around and pointed. “You are harboring vampires.”

“I am catering to customers, and I suggest you get out if you’re not going to buy anything, because that’s called loitering.” The bright girl didn’t look bright anymore. She had a scowl on her face as she took another step closer, getting in between the two leaders.

The tall woman tested her luck by reaching out for Haseul again, but only to pull back when a small electric shock went through her hand. The other two with her stepped forward, ready to attack at the sudden surprise.

“No harm could be done to others, but me on the other hand, this is my shop and I can do whatever I want.” Yerim warned, working her magic without even having to lift a finger.

Nayoung clasped and unclasped her hand to get rid of the tingling feeling. “We’ll be back and we’re going to talk to the council about this place.” She threatened and walked towards the exit. There was no point in wasting more breath.

“This shop has been approved for many generations. It’s older than you and everyone you know, including the council, so go ahead and try,” Yerim replied in a calm manner.

Nayoung scoffed. “Chungha. Sejeong,” she called out to the two that still stood their ground, glaring at the vampires.

The two weren’t fond of the little attack on their leader although she was the one that provoked the witch’s rule, but followed along with the order.

“We are so sorry for bringing trouble into your shop, Yerim.” Haseul’s facial expression and tone changed drastically from just a moment ago.

“We should have been able to smell those dogs.” Jinsol wrinkled her nose as if she was trying to get the rest of the scent out.

“Unnie,” Yerim scolded.

“Sorry, I meant werewolves,” Jinsol mumbled knowing the other girl didn’t like when anyone insulted others.

“And it’s fine. Trouble always finds its way over here, one way or the other.” Yerim went back to checking on Jinsol’s wound. Scrapping the last bit of the mushy herbs from her shoulder before cleaning it up and bandaging it. “Do you have an extra shirt?”

“No. We were just going to find some at the next house we were going to empty out.” Jinsol pouted at Yerim.

The girl sighed. “Well, you know me. Always here with extra clothes in case some vampires come in with injuries,” she joked and walked to the back before coming back with a plain black t-shirt.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit small?”

“This is the only one I have. Sooyoung unnie took the last loose shirt last time.”

Jinsol threw the shirt over her head and pulled at the sleeves that were too close to her armpits for comfort.

“How much for all of this?” Haseul put a few items onto the counter. “You guys got anything?” she turned around to ask the others.

“Oh, what about those pretty gemstone rings for Jungeun and Jiwoo?” Vivi asked from her seat on Sooyoung’s lap.

“You’re going to have to come back for those. Gotta do a supply run before I can make any more, so you’re gonna have to deal with the sunburn for another day or two depending on shipment.” Yerim pressed a few buttons on the register. “$29.50.”

Haseul handed over a hundred dollar bill. “Keep the change for the hospitality and for some more clothes.”

Yerim thanked the vampire, always appreciating the little extra cash that really helped her out.

Haseul tilted her head before pulling out another hundred. “You gotta eat right?”

“Unnie,” Yerim started, but Haseul shushed her, taking her purchase and walking away from the counter.

“Gemstone rings?” Jiwoo asked.

“Keeps us vampies from burning from the sun,” Jinsol answered, still trying to adjust the t-shirt.

“I know. It’s just that, there aren’t many witches that can make those.” 

“Oh, Yerim here is a prodigy. She’s such a sweet deadly kid,” Jinsol cooed and tickled under the said girl’s chin who could only giggle at the touch.

“Stop it. No, I’m not.” Yerim looked down, busying herself with the register, obviously bashful from the compliment. 

“You’re right. You’ve worked hard to get to where you’re at. Such a talent.” Jinsol loved bragging about the people she cared about and Yerim wasn’t an exception.

“We should get going.” Haseul walked over to the couch and wacked Vivi with her bag of supplies. “Could you stop that?”

Vivi let out a small laugh in response and got up from her place on Sooyoung’s lap before taking a hold of Haseul’s other free hand.


	5. STRAYS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so some y’all might be confused on the pairings. it’s unnie line. yup, all of them. i just don’t know how to tag it and idk what i’m doing, but yep, i decided this is gonna be an unnie line fic.

“Let’s stay here while Jinsol does her thing.” Vivi drummed her fingers onto Jiwoo’s and Jungeun’s intertwined ones. 

They nodded and watched as Jinsol went up to a house and rang the doorbell. She glanced over at them smiling, then turned back when the door opened. She had a flirtatious look on her face as she talked to a man that looked to be in his early 30’s. It didn’t take long for the house owner to invite the pretty blonde in.

“Is she going to kill him?” Jungeun asked, not taking her eyes off of the now closed door.

“She’s definitely going to kill him.” Jungeun turned to Vivi who had on an excited smile. She then turned to Jiwoo who had her eyebrows scrunched together.

Sensing the discomfort, Haseul spoke up. “He’s a serial rapist. Got away with it because daddy dearest was friends with the judge.” The girls looked at Haseul and nodded understanding why they chose this particular man. “And they say we’re dangerous? We’re just cleaning out trash.”

The front door opened again and Jinsol waved at the group.

“Come. We’ll stay the day and talk about what you guys want to talk about, because I know you’re going to ask about the whole joining the clan thing again right?” Haseul stood up and walked towards the house.

“Did you guys want some?” Jinsol used her thumb to wipe at blood at the corner of her mouth before pointing back into the house at the man that laid on this stomach on the floor, motionless.

They all shook their heads, not needing to feed for the next few days from already have eaten. 

The blonde shrugged. “Bitter blood anyways. Contaminated with too many drugs. I think I can feel a little high from it. Nothing like Sooyoungie’s blood earlier though. That was nice,” she rambled on.

“The clan.” Jiwoo ignored the giddy blonde and got right down to business.

“Hmm, yes. We only said that you two were a part of the clan to those wolves to keep you safe, but you can still decline our offer.” Haseul walked into living room as the rest followed, taking a seat around the coffee table. “Like I said, you can leave any time.”

“We remind you of someone,” Jungeun repeated what was said before. They weren’t sure if that was a good enough reason for a clan of seemingly infamous vampires to keep strays around.

Haseul sighed and looked between the two as if she was trying to figure something out. She sat back so that she was leaning on the couch and then looked over at Sooyoung. The woman had her arms crossed, looking out into the backyard through the glass sliding door.

“Do you remember anything from before you turned?” Haseul asked.

Jiwoo and Jungeun looked at each other, communicating with their eyes.

“That’s a bit personal don’t you think?” Jiwoo answered, wary of how this had to do anything about them so willingly to add the two to the clan.

“You don’t know who sired you, but we might do. Don’t you want to know?” Haseul voice was low as she spoke. The other three vampires seemed to be avoiding the conversation.

The younger ones looked at each other again. They had stopped wondering about their past a long time ago. For a few decades, they made it their mission to find out who had turned them into these monsters. The anger and confusion almost tore them apart. They had let go of the past, but the past always catches up it seemed.

“We don’t know for sure, but we’ve been hearing about another clan that has been tracking down strays. Strays that they’ve turned, abandoned, and now taking back in to create some sort of army.” 

“So you’re basically recruiting us first before they do.” Jiwoo stated rather than questioned.

“In a sense, yes, but not to create our own army against theirs or anyone else’s. We know this clan. We know what they’re capable of and they don’t take no for an answer.” The short haired woman ran her hand through her hair. “But with us, you always have an option. You can leave right now if you want or you can stay, be a part of this family and we will protect you.”

“We’ve done many things in the past that we regret. You two actually seem to have morals and that’s rare these days. We would hate to see that corrupted or the result of you declining their invitation.” Jinsol voice sounded so serious for the first time that it almost scared them. It was such a different contrast than how she was just a moment ago. “And that arrow to the gut would have been nasty if you didn’t come through,” she said looking at Jiwoo. “We’re at least friends now right?”

“You saved us once too, so I guess we’re even.” Jinsol couldn’t tell what emotions were behind Jiwoo’s tone.

“What does it mean if we join? Do we just follow orders or what?” Jungeun asked for the both of them.

“Have any of us been ordering you around? We would like to think that everyone here is equal.” Haseul slipped her hand in Sooyoung’s and gave it a squeeze. The taller woman still did not look like she cared about the conversation, but Haseul knew better.

“But you are the leader right?” Jungeun kept the questions coming.

Haseul looked around the room at her other members.

“If you asked us who our leader was, yes, we would say Haseul, but that does not mean that everything she says is law.” Vivi finally joined in. “She’s the most, how do I put it? Level headed. She speaks when all the rest of us want to do is rip the enemy’s head off, but I guess that’s not practical in every situation is it?”

“I understand that you’ve been in clans before. Maybe they weren’t ideal. Maybe they left a bad taste in your mouth. I don’t want to say that we’re different, but we are. I hope what we’ve shown you so far proves that.” The leader always spoke with such elegance that it was hard to think that there was any deception behind her voice.

“It’s not like we have anywhere else to go,” Jungeun said nonchalantly.

Jiwoo kicked Jungeun’s foot. “Joining a clan means that we’d have to feed from one another at some point. I apparently already fed from Sooyoung.”

The said woman finally turned her head to face the smaller girl. “I am sorry.” Her voice was quiet, but their enhanced hearing picked it up.

Jiwoo looked at Sooyoung in surprise. She was not expecting that as a response or getting a response at all. “I- No, it’s fine. You saved me.”

“It’s not like we have to do that now. We understand that it takes time to build that bond, but you both are still welcomed to join us,” Haseul clarified.

Jiwoo and Jungeun’s magnetic hands found their way to each other again. They weren’t sure if they were ready to be vulnerable to others again, but they knew they wouldn’t survive without a clan. Besides that reason, they wanted to deny that they didn’t already feel a little attached. It’s been too long since they felt genuine care from someone other than each other.

“We hope that we can contribute to the clan as much as everyone else.” Jiwoo finally gave in while Jungeun nodded along.

“This is exciting.” Jinsol clasped her hands together and grinned like she just got the presents she wanted on Christmas morning.

“Jinsol.” Haseul was always there to warn her.

“Sorry, it’s just been so long. I miss having others around.”

“Are we not enough for you?” Vivi placed a hand over her heart, pretending to sound hurt.

Jinsol practically bounced off of her seat from besides the younger vampires to cling onto the pink haired woman’s arm. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Vivi laughed and patted the blonde’s head.

Haseul was right. They have been in clans before, but none like this. They were always more serious, less play. More killing, less talk. Everything about this clan was backwards to the ones they’ve been in. It’d be a lie to not say that they weren’t scared. Either people end up disappointing or everything good always comes to an end.


	6. THE PAST: 1847

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm writing way more than i thought, but i'm also going on vacation soon for 6 weeks, so i probably won't be updating during that time.

1847

 

“Jiwoo! Come on, slow down!”

“You’re drunk Daeul, go home!” Jiwoo yelled at the man that was on her tail along with two of his other goons.

“You know I can’t do that. Your father told me to look after you.” Daeul caught up and grabbed Jiwoo’s arm to make her stop.

She turned around and pulled back. “I don’t need a babysitter and what are you going to do? You’re staggering all over the place.” She shook her head and kept on walking. She didn’t have time for this, but with him in her life, he always made everything more difficult.

“I know you’re going to go see that bitch!”

She stopped in her tracks and turned around again. The man stood there, red in the face with anger and too much alcohol.

“You can call me whatever you want, but don’t even mention her in your filthy mouth,” Jiwoo spat out.

“You can’t hate me forever, Jiwoo. We’re getting married soon.” He wouldn’t let up and tried walking faster to catch up.

Her father had set up an arranged marriage with a wealthy family without even discussing the matter with her. He just did whatever he pleased and expected Jiwoo to obey like a good daughter, but she couldn’t be tied down by someone else making decisions about her life for her. 

“Jiwoo.” She looked up surprised to see her best friend. They had planned to meet up at the park they frequented, but she was running late.

“Jungeun.” Jiwoo tried motioning for the slightly smaller brunette to go out of view of the unwanted guests.

“You’re so predictable, Jiwoo.” Daeul had caught up and now looked between the two. His friends behind him still drinking out of a shared bottle. “And I’m going to call this dyke whatever I want.” He got closer, trying to grab at Jungeun.

Jiwoo stood in front of him and swatted his hand away. “Don’t touch her!” She reached behind to take a hold of Jungeun’s hand.

“Your father has told me about how disrespectful you’ve become. You really need to be taught a lesson.” Daeul shoved Jiwoo to the side and reached out for the girl behind her again, who tried backing away.

Jiwoo fell down harshly scraping her elbow and hands on the gravel. She looked up to hear Jungeun grunting in pain on her knees. She got up quickly and tried getting to the brunette but was grabbed from behind by one of Daeul’s friends. He had her in a tight grip from behind as she kicked at him.

“Let go of me!” Jiwoo smaller stature did not give her the leverage she needed to get out, so she did the next best thing.

“You bitch!” The man from behind yelled as he get go of the girl that had just bitten his arm.

Jiwoo ran for Jungeun and threw her body at Daeul, knocking him off of the girl beneath him. He was caught off guard, but stronger as he tossed Jiwoo to the side like nothing.

“Hold her.” He nodded his head over to his friends. 

Daeul was a sweet man in front of her father, but when he wasn’t there, things tended to get ugly. He had enough money to do whatever he wanted, so he chose to spend most of it on drinking. He was an angry drunk, laying his hands on Jiwoo more times than she could count. She always fought back and it would just make him angier.

She now laid on her stomach when she felt arms pull her up. Each man had a vice like grip on either side of her.

“Your father has given you so many chances to stop seeing her, yet you keep disobeying.” Daeul walked over to where Jungeun was curled on the ground. He gave her a swift kick to the stomach and all she could do was groan in pain from the air being knocked out of her lungs. She curled up more, trying to protect herself.

“Jungeun!” Jiwoo cried out, knowing it was useless trying to get out of the men’s hold. “Please, please just let her go. I’ll never see her again. I’ll marry you! I promise, just please!” She has never been more desperate in her life. Jiwoo knew all she was saying were lies, but she just had to make him believe her. 

They had planned to run away. Get out of the city and move somewhere no one knew them. This wasn’t how she imaged things. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Daeul bent down and grabbed Jungeun by the hair, pulling her up so that she was on her knees. “It’s too late Jiwoo. I know you won’t marry me unless she’s out of the picture.” He pulled out a knife from behind his waistband and placed it at the girl’s neck.

“Please! I’m begging you, Daeul. Please don’t do this!” Jiwoo was now sobbing. The only thing keeping her from falling was the arms that still held her. “Jungeun,” her voice trailed.

Jungeun looked at her with silent tears rolling down her cheeks. “Jiwoo, I love you,” she managed to get out as her eyes widen from the feeling of the knife sliding across her neck. It didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. All she felt was the warmth of blood as it spilled, dirtying her shirt.

“No, Jungeun! Get off of me!” Jiwoo shook her arms loose and the men let her go.

She ran for the slightly smaller girl and dropped to her knees, not caring that the gravel was biting into her skin. Jiwoo took off her jacket and pressed down on the wound. Jungeun stared back at her, helplessly struggling to try to get words out. She still had so much she wanted to say to Jiwoo. They had so many things they wanted to do together.

Jiwoo looked up to see Daeul standing there, the knife still in his hand.

“You bastard. You fuckin’ bastard,” Jiwoo growled out. She got up and kicked him between the legs. 

He dropped to his knees and grabbed her arm as she tried swinging at him. He twisted it, forcing her down on one knee as well. She was trying everything she could do to hurt him when she felt the knife slice at her arm. She stared down at the blood before throwing herself on top of him, both hands grabbing at the knife. Jiwoo wanted to kill him for what he’s done. She wanted to hurt him so bad. 

The struggling didn’t last long when she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Jiwoo slowly rolled off of the man, not sure what had happened. She laid on her back as Daeul stood up by her side, looking down at her.

“We need to go!” Jiwoo heard one of his friends say. “Come on!” The man grabbed Daeul’s arm, who was in a daze. She watched as they ran and finally felt warmth as she retracted her hand from her stomach for it to only come up covered in blood. The adrenaline in her system must have been in overdrive because she didn’t even feel the knife entering or leaving her body.

Jiwoo turned her head to see Jungeun still struggling, using every ounce of energy to try to stay alive. She grunted from the wound, got onto her stomach, and used her elbows to drag her body to Jungeun’s. Jiwoo held onto the girl’s hand as they laid there side by side like some sick twisted movie. 

She knew she wasn’t strong enough to actually cause much harm to Daeul. In a way, Jiwoo was glad that she was bleeding out on the cold street next to the love of her life. They’ve wanted nothing but to be with each other, but they never would have thought that it’d be through death. Maybe the only peace they would ever find together was in the afterlife.


	7. VULNERABLE

The sun was almost setting when Haseul entered the kitchen to find Sooyoung sitting on a stool at the bar like styled island staring at nothing in particular.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked softly, wrapping her arms around the taller woman from behind, resting her chin on Sooyoung’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” was the only reply she got, but she was used to getting short replies, not wanting to push her to say more.

“It’s a bit much isn’t it?” Haseul felt the normally icy vampire relax in her embrace.

Sooyoung hummed in response and laced her fingers with Haseul’s that were currently around her stomach.

“The past is the past. I wish you could see what I see in you, love.” Haseul placed a soft kiss on Sooyoung’s shoulder. 

The woman sighed and shook her head lightly. “It just seems like everything I do pushes me two steps back.” Her voice was quiet as if she was afraid of anyone else hearing her vulnerability. 

“I know you’re scared and it’s okay, but what we’re doing here is pushing you forward. We got you, you and Jinsol, you know that right?” It wasn’t like Sooyoung to show much emotions, but when she was alone with her family, she trusted them with every part of her, the good and the bad.

Haseul gave her another quick kiss on the back of her head before letting go, having felt another presence about to enter the room.

“Hey,” Jiwoo greeted, walking in slowly. It was the first time for this combination to be alone together and she tried not to show her awkwardness.

“Did you rest well?” Haseul looked over and took a hold of Sooyoung’s hand to pull her to the dining room table so that they could all sit.

“Yeah, I did. The room was getting a bit stuffy though.”

“The others should be getting up soon anyways. Don’t know about Jungeun, but might have to drag the other two out though.” Jiwoo didn’t want to ask, but it seemed like they were used to the change in roommates between the four. They all seemed a bit too close, but it wasn’t unusual for vampires to have more than one partner. 

“You could ask if you want.” Jiwoo looked up in surprise, wondering if the older woman was a mind reader. “I can’t read your mind if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve just been noticing you and Jungeun glancing at our little interactions every now and then is all.”

Jiwoo gave out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t want to be rude.”

Haseul smiled. “It’s not rude. You’re now part of the clan, so you can ask whatever you want. But if you’re too shy, our relationship is out in the open. Having lived for so long puts things in perspective doesn’t it? Why only love one person when you could love more?” The woman shrugged and placed her hand on Sooyoung’s thigh. “It just makes sense after you throw out everything society has taught you, I guess.”

Jiwoo nodded, already used to seeing vampires with multiple partners, but their relationship felt different. When others craved for lust, these four moved in synchronization of making sure everyone felt safe and cared for. Now that was not something she was used to. 

Jungeun entered the room as Jiwoo turned around to greet her. She was sure Haseul knew of her approaching and said what she needed to say so that the two new members could be aware of their obvious relationship. 

“Good evening, Jungeun.” Haseul smiled her usual soft smile. “Why don’t you go get the others out of bed, love,” she said to Sooyoung, who only nodded and got up. “We’ll be heading to Yerim’s to see if her shipment has arrived yet. It would have been much easier if we didn’t toss out the last of our burner phones. Pesky humans really out there making our lives harder.”

“Should we worry about the wolves coming back?” Jungeun didn’t want to bring more trouble to Yerim’s place. The girl seemed sweet, having only talked to her briefly.

“They know they can’t do anything on neutral ground, so I doubt they’d try to do anything there again.” 

“You guys are up early. We were waiting for the sun to go down.” Jinsol’s cheery voice made herself known.

“The sun is down.” Haseul rolled her eyes and got up from her seat, prompting for the other two at the table to do the same.

The walk to their destination was uneventful. It was the same as the other day. Full of tipsy young people, out having dinner or whatever with their friends at the many restaurants that littered the streets.

“Hey, Unnies.” Yerim’s normally bright tone was turned down a few notches today as they entered the shop. “I picked up some supplies, but I’m still waiting on the shipment, which most likely will come in tomorrow. Sorry about that.”

“That’s fine.” Haseul went over to the counter to place a burner phone in front of her. “Picked some up on the way here.”

Yerim nodded and pocketed the item. “There were vampires here earlier in the day, Unnie,” she started. “They also had on daywalker rings.”

Haseul looked up and frowned. “What did they want?” There weren’t many vampires around that could obtain such a ring. Most vampires and witches weren’t exactly on friendly terms, so those with one either had a connection or threatened witches for it.

“I don’t know. They were just looking around.” Although Yerim’s place was neutral ground for all kinds, it wasn’t often vampires entered her shop, let alone ones walking in when the sun was still out. 

Haseul drummed her fingers on the counter and looked back at her members, who had on unreadable expressions. “When do you get off? Is someone walking you home?”

“Yeah, but I also always walk home with a cloak.” Yerim understood the worry. Every new face that showed up to town that stood out from the norm was potential trouble. She always masked her presence with a small spell, knowing witches were easy targets without the armor of a werewolf or healing of a vampire.

“Sorry for the short visit, but we’ll see you tomorrow okay?” Haseul wanted to go back to their current shelter and discuss this with the others. With new clan members, she wanted to make sure they knew how to protect themselves. “Stay safe.” She pushed the door open to go back out into the alley.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Haseul stopped in her tracks to see a stranger at the end of the only exit along with two others. She heard Sooyoung growl behind her, stepping forward, directly in front of Haseul to keep her out of harm’s way. The shorter woman didn’t want the protection, stepping to the side and in front of Sooyoung again, who was now pressed up against her.

“Didn’t know you keep company with witches these days.” Haseul calmly spoke first, taking notice of the human’s heartbeat behind the taller one.

“I could say the same to you.” The stranger looked up at the “Choerry’s Cave” sign above the door.

“Just getting supplies.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ve seen you here more than once.” The smirk that was on the other woman’s face glowed of confidence, knowing she has caught them off guard.

“Are you going to tell me what you want or are you going to get out of my way, Jiu?” Haseul could feel Sooyoung tense behind her at the mention of the name.

“You have something that belongs to me.” Her face turned dark as her head nodded to the vampires behind the leader and she showed a bit of her sharp incisors.

“You gotta be more specific, there’s quite a few of us.” Haseul kept her composure, but in truth, she didn’t want to provoke the other. She knew if things got out of hand, she wouldn’t be able to stop her clan.

The woman went back to smirking as if she had two different personalities. “I could say I’d like Sooyoungie and Sol back, but I guess it’s a little too late for that. Seems like the two little ones haven’t been with you long though.”

The two were behind Vivi who had a grip on their hands. They were blocked for the most part, with Jinsol in front of the pink haired woman.

Sooyoung snarled and tried to step out from behind Haseul again, but the shorter woman raised her arm out to stop the vampire from moving forward.

“You’ve always been the more hot-tempered one.” Jiu laughed at Sooyoung’s attempt. “I remember making sure you knew where you belonged and I can do it again.”

Before anyone could react, Sooyoung fell to her knees, grabbing at her head in pain, trying not to cry out. The shorter woman from behind the enemy’s leader seemed to have the control.

“Let her go!” Haseul shouted through gritted teeth as Jinsol quickly kneeled down besides her lover, pulling her into an embrace. 

The pain got too much as Sooyoung screamed out, almost falling forward if it wasn’t for the blonde holding her.

Haseul full fangs came out of instinct as she stepped forward. “There’s people everywhere just outside of the alley. You can’t be doing this here.” She had to keep calm. She couldn’t attack. She had to keep her clan safe and more importantly, she couldn’t let Yerim come out of the shop. Haseul knew that the purple haired girl could take care of herself, but she was also human, and humans didn’t share the same fate of immortality.

“Just give me my two little ones.” The tall woman had on an almost expressionless face, ignoring Sooyoung who was still on the ground writhing in pain. “I can always remind Sol of her place too.”

“They don’t belong to you. None of them do.” Haseul kept her voice even. “Now let them go, because you know you’re outnumbered and that witch isn’t strong enough to take a hold of all of us.”

Jiu face didn’t change as she lifted her hand up, signaling the woman who had control over Sooyoung stop. The vampire in Jinsol’s arms didn’t stop shaking as the aftershock of the magic still affected her, her cries of pain reduced to small whimpers. 

The emotionless woman hummed and then changed her expression back to the smug look. “Well, this has been a fun reunion. Maybe I’ll drag this out and see where this takes us. I’ll catch you guys some other time.” And with that, she turned her back towards them, arm up waving goodbye before leaving the alley with her minions.

Haseul finally broke from her calm demeanor and turned around to kneel besides Sooyoung. She brushed hair out of her face and stroked her cheek as her head laid in Jinsol’s lap. “Hey, hey, you’re okay.” The shaking woman reached out for her and Haseul pulled Sooyoung into a hug. 

Jiwoo and Jungeun held their breath from their place still behind Vivi, who stood there frozen as she watched the exchange between her clan members. She wanted to comfort them, but also had to take care of the younger ones.

“She’s the one that sired us.” Jiwoo stated more than she asked. She wanted to make sure Sooyoung was alright too, but knew not to disturb the moment. It scared them to see the vampire in such a state when she normally didn’t show much emotions.

“We’re afraid so.” Vivi’s voice was barely above a whisper, losing the normally playful tone. “We weren’t entirely sure at first, but this pretty much confirms it.” The pink haired woman turned around to face them. “There’s some things that we should probably tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love me some yveseul


	8. TRUTH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an update before i go on vacation in a few days. i still have 4 chapters i haven't uploaded yet, so those will be spread throughout 6 weeks.

“We were part of their clan before leaving.” Jinsol was the first to break the silence as they entered the house and made their way back to the dining room. “I mean, me and Sooyoung anyways.”

“You should go up and rest,” Haseul whispered to the dark haired vampire, who only shook her head, taking a seat next to the leader.

“And that woman, she was the one who sired us?” Jungeun repeated what Jiwoo said earlier. “Were you there?”

Jinsol shook her head in frustration. “That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out.”

Everyone turned when the small voice in between Haseul and Jinsol was heard. “We were there.” Sooyoung had her eyes casted to the table before looking up. “That witch, she showed me things, things I’ve been trying so hard to forget.”

“You let her turn us into these monsters and then just left us there?” Jiwoo didn’t know what to think. The two clans seemed like mortal enemies, but she couldn’t help but feel anger build up. They had woken up, scared and alone, not understanding why nothing satisfied their hunger for blood. “I woke up thinking that I survived, looking over to Jungeun who’s throat was still slit, laying there motionless.”

“I-,” Sooyoung started, but stopped. “1847. We were so young.” The unwanted memories started flooding her head again.

“I don’t know how we could have forgotten you two. You killed most of town. It was all over the news.” Jinsol shook her head in realization. “Yes, we were there and we did leave the both of you. We’re not proud of who we were in the past, and that’s no excuse for what we’ve done, but please believe us when we say that we’re terribly sorry.”

Jiwoo elbows were on the table, with her head in her hands. “Why’d you leave the clan?”

Jungeun stayed quiet, rubbing the redhead’s back in comforting circles.

“They thrived on knowing they could create chaos by siring people and then leaving them without proper guidance when they woke up crazed with hunger.” Jinsol held onto Sooyoung’s hand to keep her from digging her nails into her palms. “I guess we were sucked into the thrill until we realized immortality didn’t grant you the right to ruin other people's lives. It was small at first, the ripple, but it was like a flap of a butterfly’s wings. It got out of control and we had to get out.”

Jiwoo sighed before speaking again, “I forgive you.” Her voice was quiet, but everyone in the room heard and turned her way.

Sooyoung looked up in surprise. “For what I’ve done, there is no forgiveness.”

“I forgive you,” Jiwoo repeated louder this time. She had so many different emotions running through her head. “I can’t say that I haven’t done horrible things either, things that have also ruined lives. For so long, I’ve been so angry, and I still am, but that anger should be directed towards the ones who hasn’t changed to see past their own ego.” She couldn’t see Sooyoung and Jinsol in the same light as the vampire they just faced. Even she herself and Jungeun were nothing like who they are now from when they first turned. It wasn’t right for her to not give them another chance for things they’ve done ages ago. It was different, having lived for so long.

“You’re right, we have been in a few different clans, but those clans were built on lies and so many secrets that just came spilling out,” Jungeun finally spoke up. “I want to believe that this one is different. We’ve always kept our guards up, but this is the first clan to actually communicate with each other without violence. And maybe you don’t think you deserve forgiveness, but we’re forgiving you anyways.”

When they first turned, they wasted so many years being angry and killed whoever they could for information about who sired them. It resulted in countless enemies and almost destroyed their second chance at being together.

“Thank you.” Never in this lifetime did Sooyoung ever think that she’d hear those words directed towards her. She lived an immortal life full of guilt and only started to slowly learn how to love herself again once Haseul and Vivi took her and Jinsol in.

“You don’t know how much that means to us to hear.” Jinsol smiled, but it wasn’t her usual happy-go-lucky one. As much as she was glad the two didn’t hold any ill will towards them, the guilt still ate at her. It would take time for both her and Sooyoung to forgive themselves.

Jungeun sighed. “There’s no use in fighting when you took us in on the verge of death. Who we were in the past doesn’t mean that’s who we are today. It might have broken us at some point, but we chose to turn it around and I have to believe you all have done the same.” Trust was a tricky thing. There was no time limit of knowing when to fully trust someone, but if they didn’t rely on anyone now, they’ll be good as dead on their own. “Please don’t prove us wrong.”

If this was back then, this conversation would have ended up differently. It would have been a blood bath on both sides, but those days were long over and they were completely different people. 

“What do we do now?” Jiwoo asked, unsure of what the arrival of the new enemy meant.

“We can’t leave, not yet anyways. They know about Yerim and I’m not about to leave her on her own when we’re the ones that lead trouble to her doorsteps.” The other vampires around the table nodded in agreement as Haseul spoke.

“We’re also not ones to run when threatened, and especially now that she dare cause harm to Sooyoung,” Vivi growled out, licked at her teeth where her fangs would be. “They’re also not ones to stop until they get what they want.”

Jungeun threw up her hands. “Great, so now we have the whole shabang after us.” She shook her head in disbelief at not only having hunters and werewolves after them, but other vampires and witches too.

The brunette looked up when no one responded. They were all staring at her. “What?”

“The whole shabang? Really?” Jiwoo had an annoyed look on her face. “Where do you learn how to talk?” 

“I mean, it summed up our situation, didn’t it?” Jungeun argued back.

The other vampires looked at the two in amusement as they bickered over nothing after just having a very serious conversation. Sometimes living for so long afforded you the ability to care less about things you should care about. 

“I’ll call Yerim first thing when the sun goes down again to check on the rings.” Haseul smiled at the interaction, but got the group back on track. “Like most vampires, these ones play dirty. They attack at any time, even in the day.”

Playing dirty was common in the vampire community. When you’re immortal, rules suddenly didn’t apply. Everyone just did whatever they wanted and that is why there are hunters put in place, but even with hunters, they couldn’t see beyond the fangs. The ones that lived peacefully were also targeted, so in the end, everything just ended up in violence.

“We should actively be on watch in case anything happens. It’s too late now to move locations if they’ve already been tracking us. We’ll ask Yerim if she could cast a cloaking spell once we see her again.” The short haired woman continued. “We have to trust that Yerim can make it home on her own tonight, because it’s too dangerous for any of us to be going out. If anything, we’d probably put her in more danger by being around her.” 

“We’re going to have to tell her what’s going on. We can’t hide this from her and we got to have to limit the amount of times we see her until this clears,” Vivi added on. Yerim was too important to them to not inform her of this new threat. She also wasn’t fond of the idea that one of them won’t be there to walk her home, but Haseul was right, it’d be too risky.

“I’ll give her a call to let her in on the situation and when she’s home safely.” Haseul stood up from her chair. “You really should go rest, love.” Her voice softer as she spoke to Sooyoung.

The taller woman nodded and stood up as well, making eye contact with Jinsol who could basically read her mind. The blonde took Sooyoung’s hand as they left the room together and went upstairs to rest. They knew that they’d somehow run into their old clan some time sooner or later, but they didn’t think it would be now and certainly not like this. There was no way in actually preparing for this event even if they knew it would eventually come. When old memories came haunting back, Sooyoung and Jinsol found comfort in one another, having been together since the start of their second life.

“Shall we head to the living room? These chairs are a bit stiff.” Haseul stretched before heading out. “You’d think these rich bastards would buy more comfortable chairs with their daddy’s money,” she muttered under her breath.


	9. THE PAST II: 1847

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably my fav chap to write so far.

1847

Jiwoo felt like every inch of her was on fire when she came to. She had her eyes wide open, but everything was so blurry, like looking through a window with heavy rain against it. She hadn’t realize that she was screaming at the top of her lungs from pain until the muffled sounds of her hearing became clearer. The feeling of gravel beneath her body finally suggested that she wasn’t surrounded by the nothingness she had just felt. She blinked rapidly to try to make sure she wasn’t going blind, but when the blur lifted and she was staring at the face of her dead lover, she wished that she was.

Jiwoo screamed out again. This time the emotional pain surpassed the physical one. She cried out as she struggled to sit up, her limbs failing her as she kept falling again. She just wanted to hold Jungeun and she couldn’t even do that. Jiwoo stayed there laying on her side, her cold hand holding onto an equally icy one. She didn’t want to be alive. She didn’t want to live until the icy hand in her cold ones slightly moved. It was such a small movement that anyone would have missed it, but not Jiwoo. She felt as if every sense was heightened and every emotion was on overdrive. She stayed still and prayed. She stayed still until Jungeun took in a gasp of air and screamed out in pain. The girl arched her back up, her other hand going to the injury on her throat as she struggled to find her place in this reality. 

Jiwoo used every last ounce of strength she had in her to sit up, taking Jungeun’s head into her lap as she tried to calm her down. She didn’t understand, but was beyond grateful when she watched the gruesome wound on Jungeun’s neck start to close up. She reached down to her own stomach to find that the entry of where the knife went in was no longer there.

“Jungeun.” Her voice came out hoarse as if she hasn’t talked in ages. “Jungeun,” she repeated, this time a little clearer.

The girl in her lap had stopped screaming, but her cries were still loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. Jungeun started blinking rapidly like what she did not too long ago to get rid of the haze.

“Jiwoo?” Jungeun voice was barely above a whisper. She wasn’t making eye contact, probably still not being able to see clearly, but she didn’t need to see to know the girl holding her was her best friend. “How?”

“I don’t know.” The girl in her arms didn’t stop shaking as she also tried to sit up.

Finally facing each other, the two studied each other’s features. They looked the same, but somehow different. Jungeun reached out to place a hand on the redhead’s cheek. The warmth she once felt was no longer there. It was replaced with such coldness that she was finally aware that she herself was freezing. Every inch of her felt like a cold burn and she didn’t know how to stop the feeling as she grunted in pain again. 

Jiwoo pulled Jungeun into a much needed hug, but even with their bodies pressed so close together, there was no warmth. Everything was just cold, like they were surrounded in blue when their world used to be bursting with colors.

“I’m so cold,” Jungeun mumbled against Jiwoo as they both shivered.

The redhead nodded understanding and hugged her tighter before pulling away, studying her face again. “Your eyes. Your teeth.” Jiwoo frowned and touched the two sharp fangs that were protruding out of the girl’s slightly opened mouth.

“You too.” Jungeun reached out and mirrored the action. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so. I just feel so weak.” Jiwoo groaned as she struggled to stand up. Almost falling, but got on her own two feet and held out a hand for Jungeun to take.

They both stood there for a moment just taking in their surroundings. The ground was splattered with blood, their blood, but they were somehow still alive. The wind on their skin almost hurt like prickles of needles and every little sound hammered in their heads. The sound of water dripping rhythmically in the distance and the absence of their own heartbeat.

They don’t remember how, but moments later, they ended up on the doorsteps of the man who had left them there to die. The door opened to reveal his mother.

“Jiwoo, darling, what are you doing here so late?” The woman asked, but there was no real concern behind her voice. “What happened to you?” She furrowed her eyebrows looking the girls up and down in their filthy clothes dried with blood and dirt.

“Could I please come in?” Jiwoo ignored the question and peered into the house.

“I’ll make you a warm bath, but your friend here needs to leave.” The woman walked back in and left the door open for Jiwoo to come through, but as she tried passing the doorway, she was stopped by some invisible force.

Jiwoo frowned and looked back at Jungeun who looked equally confused. “May I come in?” She called out again.

“Yes dear, that’s why the door is open. Daeul is upstairs by the way.” Even from outside, the house reeked of cigarettes.

Jiwoo felt her teeth itch at the mention of the name. “I’ll be back in a few.” She let go of Jungeun’s hand and took a step inside, this time, nothing stopped her.

“Be careful.” Jungeun tested her luck and tried entering as well, but was unable to. She didn’t want Jiwoo going in alone, but something about their new bodies gave them a sense of strength even though they felt weak from the transition.

Jiwoo slowly made her way up the stairs, hand lingering just above the railing to feel the cold polished wood on her fingertips. Each step she took creaked just ever so slightly, but it bounced off the walls and bore into her head, causing it to pound.

She reached his room and gave it a quick knock. There was shuffling on the other side of the door and then she came face to face with her murderer. The look on his face was pure terror and she had to admit that she enjoyed it a bit too much.

“Ji- Jiwoo,” he stammered and took a step back. “How?”

“Hi, Daeul.” She took a step inside of the room as he backed away more.

“I-.” Before he could finish, Jiwoo pounced on the man, the weight of her body making him fall backwards with a thud. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

Instinct took over as her sharp fangs dug into his neck. She was so hungry. He was so loud, laying there screaming and thrashing around. And as much as she enjoyed hearing his pain, his voice was hurting her head, so she bit deeper to shut him up and drained him dry.

He had stopped moving as Jiwoo stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She heard footsteps racing up the stairs. Daeul’s mother was shouting, asking what was going on. When she appeared at the doorway, her shrill scream echoed, looking at the lifeless body of her only son.

Jiwoo just wanted all of the noise to stop being so loud. She approached the still screaming woman who stood there frozen from fear. The redhead placed her hands on either side of the woman’s face before giving it a quick twist, snapping her neck. She dragged the body down the stairs, step by step to where Jungeun stood right outside the front door with a worried look on her face, but that expression soon turned into something she couldn’t understand. 

Jungeun felt so hungry. She could almost feel the woman’s warm blood running down her throat as she fed and she did when Jiwoo offered her the woman, prompting her own fangs to emerge as she bite down on the neck.

She tossed the woman’s body to the side like a rag doll when she finished, looking up at Jiwoo who still had hunger in her eyes.

The redhead wordlessly took her hand and they walked together down the road towards their next destination. 

The only people still out past midnight were the drunks who didn’t want to go home to their wives, too busy spending their hard earned money on poison that they drank. 

Men approached them and it all ended up the same, with two puncture marks on their neck and the never ending thirst for blood. Nothing satisfied them as they took out everyone in sight before reaching another house.

Jiwoo’s house.

She opened the door with her keys, but like before, she wasn’t able to enter. This was no longer her home.

She called out to her father and mother, hoping it would wake them. It took several tries before the both of them appeared. 

“What is with all of the ruckus, Jiwoo?” Her father voice was full of annoyance as he rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. “What the hell happened to you?” He placed a hand on her shoulder to examine the damage and she tried her best not to kill him right there and now. “Why is she with you?” He nodded his head to Jungeun angrily, who was standing a little off to the side.

“She’s my best friend, my lover.” Jiwoo voice lacked any emotion.

Her father’s expression turned from angry to full on pissed off. He dug his nails into Jiwoo’s shoulder, probably breaking the skin, but she didn’t feel anything. He took a step out of the house and that was all it took for Jiwoo to roughly yank him towards her, tilt his head to the side, and sink her teeth in. 

He screamed. 

They always screamed. 

Jungeun joined in on the other side of his neck, ignoring the horrified voice of Jiwoo’s mother. They dropped his body as they finished. The woman was still inside of the house, hand over her mouth having witnessed such horror. Jiwoo stood there, looked at the doorway before trying to take a step inside. Her foot planted itself down, the invisible force that kept them out was no longer there. 

“Please,” the woman begged. “Jiwoo, please.”

“You just stood there and watched him beat me. All of these years, you just stood by as you watched the man you loved beat your own daughter,” Jiwoo spat out, her anger intensified ten folds as she watched the woman cry. When she herself has cried so many times as the woman she called mother did nothing.

“He didn’t mean it. He loved you.” It was something Jiwoo has heard so many times. She didn’t understand what love was. All she knew was pain and suffering.

“Like how Daeul loved me? You threw me to one abusive man to another. Is that what love is?” Her voice grew louder as she felt Jungeun hold her hand from behind.

She never knew what love meant until she met the girl with the magnetic hands. No matter what happened, they would always find their way back to each other.

“Please, Jiwoo. It doesn’t have to be like this.” Her mother had her hands clasped together in front of her, still begging.

Jiwoo tilted her head to the side. “But it does, mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spacing out my updates is hard cuz i just want to post everything...


	10. OLD FRIENDS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updated sooner than expected since i decided to use my break day on vacation to write. what a loser...

The restless vampires stayed in the living room, keeping an eye on things while Sooyoung and Jinsol were still upstairs in their room, being more mentally exhausted than anything. It was much different than when Jungeun and Jiwoo were on their own, hiding in small dirty places with only them two to watch each other’s backs. 

Haseul watched as the sun began to slowly rise when the presence of others invaded her senses. “They’re so predictable.” 

The two upstairs having sensed the same oncoming intruders barely made it down from up in their room when they heard the breaking of a window, and then another. Jinsol was caught off guard when Sooyoung was shoved from behind, tumbling down the rest of the steps, landing with a loud bang at the bottom. Before the blonde could turn around to see the enemy, her hair was roughly tugged causing her to fall back hitting the steps at an awkward angle. She groaned and looked up to see a pair of eyes smirking at her.

“Bora,” Jinsol whispered out. Her hair was grabbed again and she was tossed down the stairs, knocking Sooyoung back over, who was half way getting up.

The scent of the other vampires weren’t present like it was just a moment ago. 

They both quickly got up, keeping an eye on the vampire at the top of the stairs, who slowly made her way down. Their heads whipped around when they heard a scream.

Jungeun.

“I’ll keep her busy.” Jinsol lightly pushed Sooyoung to make her go. The dark haired woman hesitated for a second before making her way to where the Jungeun’s voice was getting farther away. 

“To think that I was the one you used to protect.” Bora sneered and jumped down the last few steps to attack, but Jinsol was faster, moving out of the way and throwing the other vampire to the other side of her.

Bora landed crouched down on her feet, hissing, baring her fangs before she got up again. She stood there, but her expression changed, the corners of her mouth forming into a small smirk.

Jinsol took a step forward, ready to take the upper hand when she felt something cold, stopping her from moving. She gasped and looked down to see a sword had ran itself through her from behind. She didn’t even need to turn to know who it was. The blade pulled out as she fell on her right knee. The newcomer stepped in front of her to reveal another blonde. The woman bent down to Jinsol’s level and placed a hand on the injured one’s cheek, running her thumb on her bottom lip before shoving the sword back through her body. Jinsol cried out, holding the handle of the sword as it was pushed in farther and twisted.

“It’s been too long, hasn’t it?” The woman licked her own lips and then bit it softly. “Do you still taste as good as I remember?” She whispered into Jinsol’s ear before tugging her hair back to reveal her neck.

“Really Siyeon? I got to her first. Get your hands off of her,” Bora said in annoyance and made her way towards the two, but stopped when she sensed someone from behind. She turned around too late when her vision was blocked by pink hair and her neck snapped to the side, easily taking her out of the game. Vivi stepped over the body with rage in her eyes. 

Siyeon scoffed and quickly pulled the sword out, leaving Jinsol now on both knees, clenching the wounds on her stomach. “I’m going to have fun with you.”

The blonde enemy charged at Vivi, slicing with her weapon, but the pink haired woman’s agility was heightened when she saw the state Jinsol was in. The sword swiped for her head as Vivi ducked, using a leg to sweep Siyeon off of her feet. The weapon flew out of her hand as the blonde fell, landing a few feet away. They both looked at it, got up, and scrambled for it. Vivi reached it first, kicking it farther when the blonde grabbed for her arm, throwing her at a nearby wall. She went back for the sword when Vivi picked herself up.

“Useless without a weapon or what?” Vivi always knew what to say to make others ticked.

Siyeon turned around, sword in hand before tossing it to the side from the insult. “No, I just think it’s fun to slice people up. Sol and Sooyoungie used to always try not to scream when I had them chained up. Don’t you remember, babe?” She threw a glance back at the blonde as Vivi let another growl of anger out.

Jinsol was healing, but not fast enough to help as she just glared up at the sadistic woman. She stayed on her knees, gasping in pain as blood spilled between her fingers.

“Jinsol.” She heard a voice to her left as Jiwoo came into view, face covered with so much blood that she wasn’t sure if it all belonged to the redhead or not.

The smaller girl kneeled and helped Jinsol sit down so that her back was against Jiwoo’s leg, but in an offensive position in case anyone came to attack. “Drink.” Jiwoo bit her own wrist and offered it to Jinsol while keeping an eye on Vivi’s fight. 

Feeding from another vampire had healing properties, but it wasn’t enough to replenish the blood loss. They would have to find human blood.

-

Haseul stood frozen from the start, frustration running through her veins as she watched helplessly. The witch sat on the couch with a single leg crossed over the other, keeping Haseul’s feet rooted to the ground.

Jungeun struggled as she was grabbed and pulled by two vampires. She did everything she could to get out of their grips, but it was futile. They were heading towards the entrance of the house. She screamed knowing what was going to happen. She screamed again when they tossed her through the front door. The sun blazed down as her skin slowly started to sizzle. She curled up into a fetal position to try to stop the burning, but nothing helped.

The witch was too smug with herself noticing too late the dark haired vampire behind her as she was lifted up by the shoulders and tossed to the other side of the living room. With the spell broken, Haseul didn’t waste any time running for Jungeun.

Sooyoung stalked over to the witch, but was stopped when she couldn’t move, much like Haseul before.

The witch was on all fours, with her right arm out before standing and brushing off her clothes. “Walk,” she commanded.

The spell was down when Sooyoung tried taking another step forward, but clenched her head as the same pain as before erupted through her skull. She screamed out, but stood her ground.

“I said walk.” The witch gritted her teeth and nodded towards the entrance.

Sooyoung complied this time, making her way to the door where she could still hear Jungeun pained voice. She walked into the sun to see Haseul standing there, shouting at Jiu, who had her arms crossed from a safe distance away from everyone else. Sooyoung didn’t recognize any of the vampires that stood by the tall redhead’s side. She reached Haseul, but couldn’t move any farther as the witch had control over them.

“You’re really testing your limits aren’t you? Pulling us out when there are other houses nearby?” Haseul shouted, her temper rising.

Jungeun wasn’t screaming anymore, probably have lost her voice as blood and pus oozed out of the blisters all over her body.

The other leader ignored her. “I would have thought someone as noble as you would have lended your ring to one of the little ones. Guess you don’t care about them that much.”

“I didn’t lend them mine in case you played dirty, which you did, and so I could kill you myself.” Haseul was usually calm, but at this moment, she wanted nothing more than to rip that woman’s head off.

Jiu clicked her teeth. “You’re in no position to be threatening me, Haseul.”

She tried in vain to move, but the more she struggled, the witch’s power intensified, causing her to feel like needles were being inserted all over her body. She tried again when blonde and pink hair ran past her.

The witch’s mouth opened in surprise as she tried to stop them, freezing Jinsol and Vivi, but the spell on Haseul and Sooyoung broke. The taller vampire ran for the enemy as Haseul turned a different direction towards Jungeun. She scooped the barely conscious vampire up in her arms and ran into the house, carefully placing the brunette down next to the open door. The girl was making gurgling noises as she struggled from the amount of pain she had to endure.

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo called out worriedly as she had watched the whole ordeal helplessly from the door. She wanted to hold the smaller girl’s hand, but was afraid of hurting her more.

“I got you. I got you. I’m so sorry.” Haseul laid Jungeun’s head on her lap. She bit her own wrist and placed it slightly above, watching her blood drip into Jungeun’s mouth, the girl being too weak to feed on her own.

Haseul looked out the door to see her members taking turns freezing and unfreezing as they tried to reach the enemy. The witch was only strong enough to hold two of them frozen at a time. Eventually, they’ll get there, but it never happened as Sooyoung came skidding onto the ground, the all too familiar pain shot through her head.

“I suggest you back off.” Jiu still had her arms crossed as the rest of the Haseul’s clan stood their ground, not knowing what more damage the witch could do to Sooyoung. “Gahyeon, please tone it down a bit, the neighbors might hear.” 

The witch nodded as Sooyoung’s screams lessened. Vivi being the closest went to her side and pulled the dark haired woman into her arms.

“It’s always so nice to see you two, and Sooyoung, you never do learn do you?” Jiu smiled at her ex clan members. They watched her usher a light brown hair vampire forward. “Remember back when we spent a few years in China? That was such a great time. You remember Handong don’t you? Because she sure remembers you sinking your teeth into her neck, Jinsol.”

The blonde didn’t remember, having killed and sired so many people in her young days. Those her and Sooyoung have abandoned have come for them before so it wasn’t anything new, but this was the first time one got into Jiu’s hand, being manipulated by her.

“This has been fun as always. I really can’t wait until the next time we meet again.” Jiu smiled softly as if they were all friends. The woman waited for Siyeon with Bora in her arms, exiting through the back of the house, before turning to leave.

Sooyoung was slightly shaking, but mostly fine as she sat up on her own and helped to her feet. The three quickly made their way into the house to see Haseul desperately trying to get Jungeun to drink as much of her blood as she could while Jiwoo was saying comforting words to her.

“She needs blood, quick. Our’s won’t suffice.” Haseul hated feeling helpless. They singled her out. There wasn’t a scratch on her when she looked up at her clan to see them all covered in multiple wounds. Jiu made her feel incompetent as a leader, but she quickly shook the thought out of her head as Jungeun let out another cry of pain.

Jinsol tried heading out the door again with her members, but was stopped when Vivi pulled her back. “You stay here. You’re in no condition to go on a supply run.”

The blonde wanted to argue, but knew she wouldn’t win, so she opted in helping Haseul move Jungeun to the couch instead. As much as it probably hurt to move the girl, the floor wasn’t an ideal place for someone so injured.

To think that they were so easily targeted even when they were on guard didn’t sit well with them. They weren’t a clan to be messed with, but it’s been a long time since they’ve seen Jiu and it seems she has collected quite a few new faces.


	11. ON THE RUN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haven’t worked on this in awhile since my brain wandered off to other fics, but i hope to get back to this once i’m back from vacation in may. there’s still 2 chaps i haven’t uploaded yet, so yeah

“This wasn’t a full on attack. It was just a show of power on who’s two steps ahead. They want us to know that no matter where we go, we aren’t safe.” Haseul ran a hand through her hair, not caring that Jungeun’s blood was getting all over it. 

The unconscious girl was resting on the couch having have fed from blood bags that were brought back. Most of her wounds were healed, but it still left her drained of energy. Jiwoo had Jungeun’s head on her lap, stroking the brunette’s hair, trying hard to keep it together.

“It won’t be long until the dogs get here.” Vivi was the only one standing, pacing around the room with too much built up anger in her system.

Haseul nodded in agreement. “I’m going to need you and Sooyoung to go pick up the rings from Yerim. I asked her to come a little earlier to her shop so that we could leave as soon as possible. I also filled her in on some stuff, but don’t mention anything about Jungeun’s injuries. Kid’s just gonna blame herself for something out of her control.”

“But even if we move, without the cloaking spell, Jiu could still be tracking us.” Jinsol reached for Vivi’s hand to stop her from being so tense and pulled her down onto her lap. The pink haired woman didn’t argue as she sat down. “And with that witch, we won’t be able to know when they’re coming.” 

“We’ll deal with that when we can, but right now, the wolves are more of our concern.” 

“I’m going to kill the bitch with the sword,” Vivi mumbled under her breath.

“You want to kill everyone, love.” Jinsol kissed the back of her head as she felt Sooyoung slip her hand in her’s. The icy vampire wasn’t one to usually start skinship first, but the recent events must have rattled her more than she’d like to admit. The woman was staring off at nothing, something she did too often. They always worried about each other, but sometimes, they worried a little more about Sooyoung.

With their speed, taking less crowded routes, the two went on their errand to get the rings from Yerim. The familiar sound of the bell rang as they entered the shop.

“Unnies.” They were greeted by the jars of herbs. The girl seemed busy picking the right combination for whatever she was doing. “I made the rings as soon as I got the shipment in. It takes time for the spell to have full effects though, so a little burning might still occur until it settles.”

“As long as we don’t die, it should be fine.” Vivi followed Yerim to the counter with Sooyoung trailing closely behind.

“Please don’t joke about dying, Unnie.” Yerim gave her a disapproving look and pulled out a box revealing two rings. “Peach and red, such pretty colors they picked out.” She picked the rings up and handed it to Vivi, knowing they didn’t care about any fancy box or wrapping. 

“Thank you so much, Yerim. Sorry for being a hassle, rushing you to do things,” Vivi said pulling out her wallet to pay.

“It’s no big, I’m always glad to help.” Yerim took the money and was about to give back change, but like always, they always let her keep it. “I also made you something extra.” She slid the jar of herbs she had combined earlier and a pouch to the vampires. “There must be a reason you guys split up to come see me. The herbs are for wounds and the gemstones are for cloaking. They’ll only last about a day or two though and will need to be recharged.”

“I thought you can only cloak with all of us present.” Vivi took the gifts and handed it to Sooyoung.

“That’s the better option. I could keep you all cloaked if I was in your presence, but if I’m not, this will have to do.” Yerim sighed. “How bad is it?”

The two vampires exchanged quick glances. “Haseul filled you in didn’t she?” The pink haired woman went to reach for her wallet again, but was stopped.

“They’re gifts, Unnie. You don’t pay for gifts. And of course she filled me in, but she also never tells me the whole truth.”

“It’s for the best, Yerim. We’ve brought enough trouble to you. All we need you to do is stay safe.”

Yerim looked at the vampires before moving from behind the counter. She quickly wrapped Vivi into a hug, who only smiled and hugged her back. She then made her way to Sooyoung who held an arm open for her, the girl smiled and was grateful for the warm gesture. The icy vampire wasn’t keen on letting anyone outside of her members touch her, but the purple haired girl was an exception. She was basically one of them with all she has done for the clan. They were just as thankful to her as she was to them.

“Please stay safe and keep me updated okay?” Yerim said softly. She knew the vampires could take care of themselves, but now knowing that Sooyoung and Jinsol’s old clan was back left an uneasy feeling in her stomach from all the stories she has heard.

“We don’t know when we can be back here, so you call us if anything happens.” Vivi held onto Sooyoung’s hand, who pulled Yerim back into a small one armed embrace to give her a small kiss on the head before letting go and heading for the exit.

“Should we try on the rings?” Vivi opened her palms to reveal the objects. 

They walked out of the alley and into another place where the sun wasn’t blazing down. They both took off their own rings and replaced them with the new ones. Vivi looked at it on her finger before trying to step out, but a hand on her arm pulled her back.

“I’ll go first,” Sooyoung said as the other woman frowned.

“I’m older than you, but if it gives you a peace of mind.” They both trusted Yerim’s magic, but it was just like them to try to keep each other out of harm’s way anyways.

Sooyoung nodded and stepped out a bit. The sun tingled, but didn’t hurt as much. She fully stepped out to feel a slight burn.

“It’s bearable.”

“They can borrow our rings until these ones are in full effect.” Vivi stepped out to feel the same sensation before shrugging and going back into the shade. “Come, let’s go.”

Vivi pulled out her phone to let the others know about the goods, but before she could get a word out, Haseul spoke first. “We had to leave. Blocked the windows of the man’s car as much as we could, but it’s still dangerous.” Her voice came through staticy on the other side of the line. “The wolves were getting too close. We’re heading back to the woods.”

“Okay, I’ll follow your scent. Yerim got us something that will cloak us for the day, so we should be good once we meet up.” They picked up the pace, not knowing how much time they had.

“How are you guys doing?” Haseul looked back from the passenger seat at the two younger ones that were wrapped from head to toe in blankets.

“Fine, considering we can’t see anything,” Jiwoo answered with Jungeun’s head on her lap.

The girl was doing better, but still both physically and mentally tired. They’ll have to find more blood when they can.

“We’re going to have to walk the rest of the way. The trees are getting too thick,” Jinsol said as she stopped the car. 

It was better being in the woods where there were plenty of space to run and hide, rather than in a house, where they’d be surrounded until nightfall.

Jinsol got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door. “Hey, Jungeun-ah, I’m gonna lift you up.” The girl gave her a quiet “okay” before Jiwoo helped her out of the car.

“Keep the blanket on until we’re deeper in the woods.” Haseul opened Jiwoo’s door and guided her out.

They walked for a bit until the familiar scent of the same dogs they’ve met before surrounded them. They were being tracked too fast, with their blood all over the other house and on them. There wasn’t much time to clean up, so they did the best they could, but the wolves were able to pick up even small traces of anything.

“Why do they keep sending you rookie dogs to get in my way? I don’t have time for this.” Haseul growled out, not keeping her usual calm demeanor.

Nayoung stepped into view from behind a tree, still in her human form. She was followed by the girl named Chungha and two others. The tall one that had an arrow in her side and a much shorter girl, who they could tell was the fast small wolf.

“You killed a man for his house and then have an open dual with other vampires where humans could hear.”

“Are you just going to stand in my way telling me things we already know?” 

“You’re getting so riled up. What happened, Haseul?” The leader huffed out an air of annoyance at the way the dog said her name.

“You’re really testing my patience. If you’re going to try to kill us, then do it, because I will take you all out myself.” Haseul pulled Jiwoo back so that she was standing with Jinsol and Jungeun. She felt helpless, frozen by the witch in their fight earlier, but she wasn’t going to be helpless this time.


	12. THE WOODS

“All you bloodsuckers are the same,” Nayoung scoffed and shook her head in disgust.

“All you dogs are the same,” Haseul retorted. “What are you even doing? Hunting vampires that have been nothing but taking out scumbags like that man we killed.”

“Just because you’re immortal doesn’t make you god. You don’t get to decide who lives or dies.” As if these dogs haven’t told them the same things over and over. As if they weren’t doing the same by killing off every vampire they came across.

“You all think you do so much good, but you’re fighting with the wrong “bloodsuckers”. The real big bad ones are out there and you’re just here trying to take out the one clan that can possibility take out the actual threat.”

“We don’t need any of you, and you’re really underestimating us.”

“No, you don’t know what underestimating means because if you did, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. You’re just a kid. Go home.” Haseul didn’t want to fight, but if she had to, she’d do anything to protect her own.

Nayoung narrowed her eyes and lifted up an arm as the three behind her changed into their wolf form.

Jinsol guided Jiwoo to a sitting position by a tree and carefully laid Jungeun down. “You don’t take off the blanket no matter what okay?” She saw Jiwoo nodding from under as she stood in front of them guarding.

The blonde pulled out a blade from each side of the belt holster on her waist, handing one over to Haseul. They wanted to end this fight fast and silver was always the easiest option.

“Don’t cry when I kill your pups. I gave you a chance to walk away.” Haseul’s fangs were fully extended, eyes looking darker than usual.

The three wolves charged as their leader started to change form behind them.

Haseul jumped to the side as the small wolf came at her, grabbing a chunk of the fur to swing herself on top of the enemy. The wolf shook her head back and forth to get the vampire off, but fell on her hind legs when she felt the blade dig in between her shoulder blades.

“Yoojung!” Nayoung shouted out, in mid transition.

Chungha leaped for Haseul who was still on top, but she quickly rolled off the injured one, landing on her feet at the side as the other wolf flew past.

The young, but taller wolf they previously fought went for Jinsol and the others. The blonde waited for the dog to come at her before throwing her knife at the enemy. It took a split second for the wolf to move out of the way, but that was all Jinsol needed to run at the enemy and take hold of its neck, and sink her teeth in. The wolf howled in pain and swiped at Jinsol, who easily ducked out of the way. The blonde ran for the fallen knife and threw it at the wolf again, this time, she didn’t miss as it impaled itself in the right front leg.

“You’re children! Just stop! Are you going to keep fighting as your pup has my vampire’s bite running through her system?” Haseul kept her eyes on Nayoung and Chungha as they circled around her. Yoojung also slowly got up, the blade not hitting any vital parts.

Just when they were about to attack, the rest of the clan jumped into the picture. Sooyoung and Vivi stood in front of Haseul, hissing.

“A leader should know when to stop fighting and retreat,” Haseul calmly said, twirling the blade in her hand. “Tell your council or whatever that there’s a much bigger threat than us out here. You can’t be that stupid to not know that there’s another clan that’s been building an army, yet you’re out here doing what? I’m just trying to keep my family safe, taking out serial rapists and murderers off the streets, and you’re just lecturing a vampire that’s too old for your brain to even comprehend.”

Nayoung growled loudly and huffed before backing off a bit. Her pack did the same as the little wolf went to the taller one, much like before. 

“Don’t come for my clan again unless you can actually do some damage, because the next time you decide to attack, I won’t hesitate to let my members do what they want with you.” Haseul walked past the wolves as the others helped the two young ones up and followed.

“Sorry we missed the fight.” Vivi rubbed a hand on Haseul’s arm, trying to calm her down.

“I could barely call that a fight.” 

“Sooyoung and I are wearing the newer rings since the magic isn’t in full effect yet. Burns a little, but it’s fine.” 

Haseul nodded, still too annoyed to give a better response. Two attacks and it wasn’t even noon yet. 

Vivi went to the back of the group to slip her ring onto Jiwoo’s finger as Sooyoung was doing the same for Jungeun. 

“Much better right?” Vivi pulled the blanket off of Jiwoo and fixed the girl’s messy bangs.

The redhead looked down at the pink ring. “This is yours.”

“Yeah, well, you both will get your actual ones once we test it out for a bit to make sure it’s okay.” Vivi looked at Jiwoo’s ring on her own finger. “Hmm, this is really pretty though. Maybe I’ll just keep it.”

“Hey, no, that’s mine.” Jiwoo pouted and Vivi would only laugh at how cute she was.

“You doing okay though? I mean, considering everything.” She linked arms with the taller girl who was walking besides Sooyoung carrying Jungeun.

“I mean, we’d probably be dead already if it weren’t for you guys, so I guess considering everything, it could be worse.” Jiwoo shrugged and glanced over at the weak brunette. “This isn’t the first time she’s been thrown out in the sun, probably won’t be the last, but no matter how many times it happens, the pain always feels new.”

Vivi nodded, remembering the times she herself has been burned by the sun. Death by sun was one of the cruelest ways to go. Sometimes it took hours before you actually died, just laying there writhing, not even having the voice to cry out in pain anymore. She wanted nothing more than to subject Jiu and her clan to the same torture.

“We’re going to go see the sasquatch,” Haseul announced up ahead with Jinsol by her side. “He’s this guy that somehow knows a bit too much about everything.”

“Bigfoot exists?” Jiwoo whispered, raising an eyebrow at Vivi.

The woman let out a small chuckle. “No, he lives in the woods, but is never in one place. Humans have spotted him before, believing they’ve caught a glimpse of bigfoot. He’s easy to find though, although he’s always moving here and there. You’ll know when you start smelling him.”

Jiwoo raised her eyebrows again, but understood what she meant when they got deeper into the woods and the stench of wet garbage filled her nose.

“You smell him don’t you?” Vivi smiled amused by the redhead’s scrunched up face as she nodded.

“Codrin,” Haseul called out into the woods. “I know you’re here, you damn bigfoot!”

They all stood still for a minute until part of a thick tree started moving to reveal a gigantic vampire with broad shoulders.

“You really think you can camouflage with your smell stinking up the whole damn place?” Haseul huffed out some air to try to get rid of the scent.

“Haseul, it’s so nice to see you.” The tall built man approached the leader, attempting to give her a hug, but she backed away instead.

“Please, I’m already filthy. You’d just make me easier to track if anything.” Haseul took a step back and crossed her arms.

The bigfoot didn’t take any offense and smiled. “It’s been too long.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve needed your assistance.” Haseul looked back at her clan. “That’s Jiwoo and the other is Jungeun,” she said pointing at each girl.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I would shake your hand, but it’s a bit dirty.” He waved at Jiwoo from a distance. “And of course it’s always lovely to see the rest of you. Ah, Vivi, darling, that pink looks so good on you.”

“Yeah, I know, but everything looks good on me though.” The woman said it with such seriousness that Jiwoo wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, but figured it was probably a bit of both when she heard Sooyoung scoffing next to her.

“Alright, this is cute and all, but let’s get down to business.” Haseul was always one to keep everyone on track. “What do you know about Dreamcatcher?”

“Well, I know it’s hung up as protection,” he started.

“Don’t play stupid, Codrin.” Her voice came out snarling. “You know I’m talking about the clan.”

His smile disappeared, replaced with one that was almost unreadable. “Once upon a time, your clan was one of the most feared by vampires. You kept them in check to make sure they played by your rules, but time has changed. They’re coming and I’m not sure you can stop them.”

“There’s always a way to stop an uprising.”

“Humans and those dogs have been hunting us like animals. Maybe this doesn’t need to be stopped.”

“You really think this world ran by vampires would ever make it? You think with a clan as vicious as Dreamcatcher, vampires like you would stand a chance? They will kill you for knowing too much. They’ll kill everyone that resists them and anyone else they pleased.” Haseul licked her teeth, fangs retracted, showing no signs of attacking, but menacing nonetheless. “I’ve been staying low, but if vampires need to be kept in check again on who’s to be feared, I’m always happy to make a comeback.”

Codrin smiled a nervous smile. “Haseul, we’re friends right? You’re right, Dreamcatcher is a dangerous bunch, but I wouldn’t mess with you either.” He clasped his hands together to keep from fidgeting. “I heard they’ve been running illegal feeding rings again. They’re siring the nobodies, the ones humans won’t miss. They’re also collecting the ones they’ve left behind, ones with no clans, promising them with the idea of home.”

Jiwoo shuttered at the thought of Jiu’s clan getting to her and Jungeun first before Haseul’s. They weren’t easily manipulated, but can see how Jiu could charm her way through with how powerful she presented herself. Things would have turned out very differently if they didn’t make a turn in this very woods on that night they thought they would cease to exist.


	13. CRYSTAL CLEAR

“I think I can walk on my own now.” Jungeun’s voice came out soft from Sooyoung’s arms.

“Are you sure?” The woman looked down at her, eyebrows a little scrunched.

“Yeah, my insides don’t feel like they’re melting anymore.”

Sooyoung nodded and put her down carefully, but kept a hold on the girl in case she wasn’t ready to stand yet. Jiwoo was also by her side, an arm wrapped around her waist to steady her.

Jungeun took a few test steps before giving a thumbs up. “I’m good. Thank you for carrying me, though I feel like a baby.”

The tall vampire frowned. “Torture by sun is not something to be taken lightly.” She placed a hand on top of the brunette’s head before walking back to take her place besides Vivi.

“There’s a place owned by some guy at the edge of the woods that knowingly sells drugs cut with lethal substances to minors,” Haseul said up ahead without looking back. “I’m not god, but since the higher power seems to be absent, and I’m here blessed with the fine gift of immortality, it’s only right to use it to cleanse the earth a little of scum like that wasting precious space.” She often spoke with such little emotion that it was sometimes difficult to differentiate whether it was sarcasm or not, and that made the clan leader all the more scarier if one did not know her.

Jiwoo and Jungeun were glad that they were on Haseul’s good side, because she could be threatening someone and it’d still sound elegant. Something about the way she talks would send shivers down any person’s spine. While Jiu loved playing games, but the enemy would probably already be dead before they even realized what Haseul said was a warning of death.

“The cloaking stones Yerim gave us will only last a day or two.” Vivi went to retrieve the pouch from Sooyoung before passing a gemstone to everyone.

“We clear the house, and then half of us will use that as an opportunity to go find one of these feeding rings. We have to act first this time before Jiu comes for us again, thinking that she can just eliminate us any time she wants.” 

“Is splitting up such a good idea?” Jiwoo felt a bit anxious about having to be apart. They were already on the losing end when all of them were together.

“No, but it’s our only option with Jungeun and Jinsol still needing time to recover.”

“I’m fine,” Jinsol argued back.

Haseul turned around. “I know you are, but a little more rest wouldn’t hurt. And if something were to happen there, you’ll still be in fighting condition.” She looked over to the others. “We need to use the cloaking stones to our advantage. Can’t have Jiu thinking that she’s always ahead of us in her little game of who’s the more superior clan. I’m going to need someone that knows where these potential feeding rings are, so Sooyoung you’re with me and also you, Jiwoo. Gotta see how well we work together.” 

It wasn’t that any of them doubted the younger ones, but they were new and the clan had to know their abilities in order to function well as a unit.

Jinsol, having just been injured again took her role to kill the man once they reached the borderline of the woods meet city. He tasted more of drugs than the last man, a mix of bitter and sour blood. Jungeun joined in, frowning at the awful taste. Needing more blood than usual from what she had to endure, so she drank what she could.

“We’ll see you guys in a bit alright?” Haseul turned to Vivi, who already looked a bit bored. “Sorry you’re gonna miss out on the fun, though we might not find anything at all.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll make sure the blonde rests.” Vivi smiled with a little playfulness behind it.

“You know I can hear you right?” Anyone could tell that Jinsol was rolling her eyes from farther inside the house.

Vivi’s smile grew wider knowing that she was able to get a rise out of the healing vampire.

“Please try not to kill each other okay?” Haseul joked, but with a hint of seriousness because although there was no question that those two loved each other, the way they took pleasure in annoying one another got a bit much sometimes.

“What, you don’t trust me babysitting?” They both knew that Jinsol was still listening to them, but the other decided not to comment again.

“Vivi.” Haseul scolded.

The pink haired woman threw her hands up. “Alright, alright. I’ll be good. You three stay safe okay?”

Haseul waved her off and started walking away from the house as Jiwoo nodded and followed suit.

“Please take care of her, of them. You know how she gets with our old clan back.” Sooyoung’s voice came out hushed.

Vivi sighed and spoke in an equally quiet tone. “I know. Please be careful okay?” As much as she liked to tease her members, she sometimes hide her emotions behind her jokes.

Sooyoung pulled Vivi in a quick one armed hug and kissed the top of her head before following Haseul. The shorter woman eyebrows knitted together, knowing Sooyoung wasn’t usually one to start goodbye hugs. She knew the taller vampire and Jinsol have both been acting off because of recent events, but they seemed to be more scared than she thought. It has been awhile since they last saw Jiu’s clan. Vivi thought time would heal, but it only made things worse with no closure.

“They like to use clubs as a front. Mostly 18+ ones since they like young blood.” Sooyoung said as she caught up to the group. “They have vampires within the club scouting for potential feeds. They get them in by promising them of an amazing high.”

It was the first time Jiwoo heard the icy vampire speak this much, and she decided that she definitely did not mind listening to her talk.

“I don’t know if it’d be stupid or smart, but they might be using an old feeding ring we used to frequent around in the red light district,” Sooyoung continued, hands shoved in her leather jacket. “Are you cold?” She turned to Jiwoo who was only wearing a t-shirt.

“You’re asking a vampire if she’s cold.” The smaller girl raised her eyebrows.

Sooyoung shrugged. “Seemed like a nice thing to ask. Jinsol says she feels safer with an outer layer.”

Jiwoo softly smiled, glad the icy vampire was warming up to her enough to talk first. “No, I’m fine, thank you though.”

“Stay close when we reach the area.” Haseul looked back at the redhead who only nodded. “As if men aren’t sleazy enough, they’re even more so in the district and I’m not sure if I can stop myself from killing them if they tried anything on you.”

Jiwoo hummed in response, knowing what Haseul meant. She died at a young age, her baby like features have always been present, making her look innocent when she was anything but that.

“It’s not that late yet, so it might not be crowded, but they operate all day long since the vampires hoard in the back of the clubs to stay away from the sun.” Sooyoung took a hold of Jiwoo’s hand as they entered the district. “Is this okay?” 

The redhead looked down and then back up, nodding at the surprising contact. Not even a day ago, she never thought that she’d ever be this close to the taller vampire. She seemed so distant, even with her clan at times, but Jiwoo was starting to understand Sooyoung a bit more. She reminded her of Jungeun sometimes, cold, but soft. 

It was midday, but people were still being loud and staggering on the streets. Some looked their way, but didn’t bother them, seeing only glares coming from the vampires. They walked a little farther inside the area until they stood in front of a club. From the outside, they couldn’t spot any of their kind.

“They usually don’t allow any vampires to linger in the front. Too obvious for those who are looking for them,” Sooyoung explained, leading them along.

They went down an alley covered with tarps on top of wooden planks, a clear tell that they were trying to keep the sunlight out. Reaching the end of the darkened alley, they saw a girl with short blonde hair sitting on a stool counting money by the back entrance.

Sooyoung pulled Jiwoo behind her, giving her hand to Haseul to hold instead.

“Yeeun.” Jiwoo wasn’t sure how Sooyoung felt as she said the girl’s name.

“Sooyoung.” the blonde looked up startled, her voice a mix of surprise and concern, not what Jiwoo was expecting. She thought she’d sense fear or something threatening. “They’re not here if that’s who you’re looking for.”

“No, I wasn’t looking for them. I wasn’t even looking for you, but here you are.” Sooyoung’s voice was still a bit flat. It wasn’t exactly like how Haseul spoke, but just as hard to read. “You know why I’m here.”

The girl got up from where she sat and frowned. “Are you going to kill me?” She didn’t sound scared, more hurt than anything.

Sooyoung took a step forward. “We’re not on the same side anymore, but if you just walked away, I wouldn’t come after you.”

Yeeun clenched her teeth. “Sometimes I wish you’d be angrier with me.” If anyone else said it, it would sound almost like they were ready to start a fight, but there was some sadness behind her voice.

“You know I’m not like that, but if you or any of your clan stand in my way, I will do anything to protect my own over yours.”

“I know.” The blonde sighed and walked towards the group. It was clear that both sides were not going to attack. “Good luck Sooyoung. I really mean it, but I’ll also protect my own over you and Jinsol.” She then walked past the tall vampire, looking at Haseul, giving her a nod before going towards the alley, out of their sight.

“Dreamcatcher is Dreamcatcher, but they have other clans that they work with. They only grow more allies as time goes by. What vampire wouldn’t want a world where we ruled the earth?” Sooyoung shook her head, running a hand through her hair and then placed it on the doorknob of the back entrance of the club.


	14. FEEDING RING

Sooyoung opened the door to be met by a vampire standing right behind it. It was common to be greeted by an escort that took customers into their feeding room. The vampire didn’t even get a word in when a grip on his throat stopped him as he turned around. His eyes widen as Sooyoung pulled him in close before pushing him roughly back against the wall.

Jiwoo, who still had a foot outside the club, stepped back out to pick up the stool and slammed it down to break one of its leg off before handing the makeshift stake over to the taller woman. 

The vampire that was pinned was too stunned to fight back. Out of all people, he was not expecting to see Sooyoung, someone almost everyone knew of that was associated with Dreamcatcher long enough.

Sooyoung felt the stake being offered to her as she took a hold of it, pressing the sharp end to the enemy’s chest.

“They promised you false hopes, but I can promise you more,” Sooyoung whispered into his ear before ramming the stake through his heart, turning him into nothing but dust. “A quick death that you don’t deserve.” He’s heard of that line before. Jiu often said it before turning willing participants. It was the last thing he heard as a human and also the last thing as a vampire. 

Sooyoung gave a quiet thanks to Jiwoo before handing her the stake and leading them deeper into the back of the club.

There was an open room with a bunch of empty seats that was set up like a waiting room. To the left was a hallway with different rooms with their doors closed. Sooyoung opened the closest one to the right to see a barely conscious woman being fed on by a messy feeding vampire, whose face was covered in red, blood dripping down her chin. The vampire tore her face away from the woman’s neck at the sound of the intrusion. She hissed and tossed the body to the side, getting up to her feet.

“Sooyoung,” she hissed out and took quick steps forward, but was stopped by Haseul who stood in between.

“You say her name as if you know who is going to be the cause of your death.” The vampire growled at Haseul’s taunting and raised her right arm to attack, but Haseul gripped the enemy’s wrist, twisting it before grabbing a bunch of the vampire’s hair to toss her behind. 

Sooyoung gave out a smirk as the vampire was thrown at her. She finally showed her fangs as she leaned her head back before coming forward to sink her teeth into the woman before her. The vampire screamed and tried to pull away, but before the scream could attract much attention, Sooyoung took a handful of hair and an arm before tearing the vampire’s head cleanly off of her shoulder. The body fell to its knees, turning into dust before it could hit the floor.

They turned to hear a grunt of pain and another vampire was at the door as Jiwoo staked him through the heart.

“Haven’t done that in awhile,” Jiwoo commented, forgetting the feeling of thrill as she looked down at the weapon in her hand.

“How does it feel?” Haseul asked knowing that killing your own kind was a different feeling than feeding on helpless humans.

“Like I finally have some control over my life.” It’s been too long since she has had hope. Her and Jungeun were going day in and day out only thinking about how to survive the next day. They never thought that they’d ever have a future beyond running and hiding until recent.

The two gave her a small smile before moving on to the next room. They cleaned each out quickly and then headed to the last room at the end of the hall. Before they could get too close, the door swung open and vampires came pouring out. Sooyoung didn’t even hesitate as she lunged forward at the oncoming bloodsuckers. Snapping necks left to right as Jiwoo staked the fallen ones while fighting off enemies of her own.

Jiwoo thought she’d be rusty, fighting against more vampires than she ever had in years, but it was like her body moved on autopilot, knowing there were others who now had her back. And just at that thought, she felt fingers graze at the back of her neck, but the hand was immediately pulled away and she was met with Haseul’s angry but protective eyes.

It didn’t take long for them to take out the seven or so of low ranked vampires. Each too weak and inexperienced to go up against ones that were all over a hundred years old. All became dust except for one that stepped out of the room last.

“What are you? The final boss or something?” Haseul asked sarcastically, unimpressed by the size of vampire who stood well over a foot taller than her.

He snarled and advanced, his heavy footsteps making more noise than necessary.

She glanced back at her clan, Jiwoo getting the message without Haseul having to say a word as she tossed the stake over to her.

Haseul ducked as he took a swing at her and took the opportunity to stab his left foot with the weapon. He howled in pain as she swung her body behind him, sending quick jabs of the stake in different places behind his back before throwing the weapon to Sooyoung to finish him off without breaking a sweat.

“That was no fun.” Haseul let out a sigh, almost bored that none of these vampires were a challenge. “You think Jiu will know it was us that took out one of her feeding rings?

“Are you forgetting Yeeun?” Sooyoung dropped the stake and dusted off her hands.

Haseul hummed in response before nodding her head towards the open door the vampire’s came pouring out of. “Heartbeats.” She didn’t need to say, the other two already heard them.

They took a step forward when Haseul immediately moved her head slightly to the right as an arrow came at her face. It went flying past her and into Jiwoo’s grip, stopping it from going any farther before she turned the sharp end around to throw back into the room. A grunt was heard, followed by a thud as a body hit the floor. More arrows came out as they ducked into other rooms with Jiwoo to the right and the other two on the left.

“Hunters?” The youngest questioned after hearing more footsteps come out. These humans mainly worked with werewolves or on their own, but never with vampires. They were the very thing hunters were against.

She saw Haseul shrug before the woman came skidding out of the room, coming right under a hunter. She smirked up as he aimed his weapon at her, but it was already too late. She gripped it, pulling him down with her, biting into his wrist as he let go and screamed in pain. Haseul tossed the weapon back as Sooyoung stepped out to catch it and used their own crossbow against them. The leader used the man as a human shield as she stood up. The other enemies fired, he screamed with each arrow that hit his body before any sound from him ceased.

Jiwoo hid behind Sooyoung who took steady steps forward, firing, and when they got close enough, she pounced on a tall man who had a gun up. A bullet lodged itself into the ceiling as he fell to the ground with the small vampire on top of him. She left him laying there, bleeding out, and jumped onto the next hunter that got too close.

“You’re scared now? But you weren’t scared when you made a deal with vampires like Jiu?” Jiwoo heard Haseul ask as she finished off the human.

She stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her palm. There was one hunter left, gun up, hands shaking.

“What did she promise you?” Haseul asked another question, but it didn’t seem like she was looking for an answer. “Because whatever she said are nothing but lies. You think she’d let you live when her one goal in the end is to kill of powerless humans?”

“If you’re going to kill me then just kill me, because I’m not going to tell you anything.” The hunter decided to act brave despite her knuckles white from gripping her weapon so tight.

“Maybe I’ll let you live with the memories of all your traitor comrades being torn apart.” She started walking away as Sooyoung and Jiwoo followed, but as she reached the end of the hallway, she turned back around and gave out a soft smile. “Oh, I guess you can also send Jiu a message for me.” 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re scary sometimes?” Jiwoo asked, crossing her arms as she caught up.

Haseul chuckled lightly. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re still cute even with all that blood all over your face?”

Jiwoo frowned and tried to wipe futilely at her face. “Jungeun has,” she mumbled under her breath and used both hands but it did nothing but squish her cheeks together, making her look more childish than she already did.

She stopped her action when she felt a jacket being draped over she shoulders and looked to her left to see Sooyoung in a black crop top.

“Your shirt has blood stains all over it. People are going to question.” The tall vampire said without looking.

If Jiwoo could blush, she’d be blushing right now. “Thank you,” she let out quietly.

“You think Vivi and Jinsol are playing nice?” Haseul asked from a little up front.

“If anything, they’re probably babying Jungeun.” Sooyoung shrugged, knowing that’d be the most likely scenario.

She wasn’t wrong, knowing her members a little too well.

“Are you sure you don’t need anymore blood?” Jinsol asked as she was the one pacing around the room this time. 

Jungeun nodded. “I’m getting bloated from all the blood you keep feeding me.” Her head was resting on Vivi’s shoulder as older vampire stroked her hair. The younger one was laying down before but wasn’t feeling too well, so she opted to sitting up with Vivi volunteering to be her headrest.

“Okay, I’m just making sure.” Jinsol scratched her head and paced around quicker. 

“Would you stop pacing? They’ll be fine.” Vivi tried to reassure, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried either.

Jinsol was about to sit down when the doorbell rang. They all looked up at each other, having not noticed any presences, but then remembered about the cloaking stones. 

“I’ll get it,” the already up vampire said, walking towards the front door. She didn’t bother looking through the peephole, because if it was Jiu’s clan cloaking with the witch, they probably wouldn’t ring the doorbell before attacking.

The blonde opened the door to be met by another blonde who spoke first.

“Mother.”


	15. MESSENGER

“What are you doing here?” Jinsol scrunched her eyebrows in question.

“You’re not going to invite me in?” The smaller blonde asked and peered into the house. “Though it doesn’t look like I need to be invited in. Doesn’t seem like a place you’d settle into for long.”

Jinsol unfroze from her spot before moving to the side. The new guest took a step in before she was engulfed into a tight hug. “It’s been too long.” The older vampire held on for a little longer than necessary.

“It really has been and I’m sorry for that.” The girl melted into the hug, not wanting to let go either.

They made their way into the house after the warm greeting. Vivi and Jungeun sat up straighter, realizing it wasn’t their clan that was back.

“Jungeun, this is Chaewon. Chaewon, this is Jungeun, a new member of the clan,” Jinsol introduced.

“You didn’t tell me you had a new member.” Chaewon raised her eyebrows before Vivi got up from her seat to give her an equally tight hug. 

“You haven’t been around,” the pink haired vampire commented before telling their guest to sit down.

Jungeun fumbled with her fingers nervously. She wasn’t used to being around strangers in such close quarters. She took in the sight of the smaller girl. The blonde was pale, her clothes black, which was such a contrast to her skin and hair. There was a small greenish pouch that hung from a thin crossbody black strap that rested to her right. The necklace she wore looked familiar, but Jungeun couldn’t pinpoint where she’s seen it before.

“It’s not like you to come dropping by unannounced.” Jinsol sat close to the girl, their hands intertwined with one another.

“You probably wouldn’t have seen me for awhile longer, but the necklace called.” Chaewon reached her right hand up to fiddle with the crescent moon necklace that had a clear orb filling in most of the empty part of the moon. “Yerim was attacked.”

Jungeun took in a breath. That’s where she’s seen the necklace before. Yerim wore one that was quite similar, but instead of that shade of green for the crescent, her’s was purple.

“What?!” Jinsol and Vivi exclaimed at the same time.

“She’s fine,” Chaewon reassured immediately, regretting not having said that part right after. “But it’s not every day she’s attacked like that. She told me you guys filled her in, but we both assume there’s more to it than you’re letting on. Time to spill because whether you want her or me involved, we’ve been involuntarily pulled in. I’m not going to sit around when my family’s being attacked.”

Vivi let out a growl. “That bitch is really asking for it.”

“I heard rumors she’s out collecting vampires she has sired, vampires her clan has sired,” Chaewon said ignoring Vivi’s usual comment while looking at Jungeun in the corner of her eye. It wasn’t often the clan made friends let alone have new members.

“Are you scared she’ll come after you again?” Jinsol asked. “I’ll kill her before she lays a hand on you.”

“That is a concern, but I’m more worried about you guys and my coven.” The small blonde let out a sigh. “I’m not even supposed to be here right now. Heejin is accompanying Hyejoo to Jeju again since she hasn’t been feeling too good lately.”

“Is she okay? You should go back.” Jinsol didn’t want Chaewon having to deal with two problems at once.

“She’s fine. We’re just taking precautions. And as much as I trust you all with my life. Fighting against witches is a bit different and I’m not about to leave Yerim on her own.”

Jinsol nodded. “The rumors are most likely true. The others are checking out a potential feeding ring as we speak.”

“I assumed so. Yerim’s cloaking stones cloak you from others, but she made it so our coven can track it. Safety measures.”

They all heard the front door swing open as they turned their attention to the entrance.

“Mama!” The small blonde practically jumped out of her seat and ran into Sooyoung’s arms, who let out a small grunt from the unexpected contact.

The icy vampire’s normally expressionless face gave out a soft smile as she pat the small one on the head and gave her a kiss on the crown.

A black cat meowed as it rubbed itself in front of Sooyoung’s legs before the woman picked it up, cradling the animal like a baby.

Jungeun swore the cat wasn’t there just a moment ago, but didn’t say anything about it.

“Unnie,” the blonde greeted the leader and gave her a hug as well. “Another new member?” She motioned over to Jiwoo who was too busy trying to still rub off the remaining blood on her face, not wanting to look like a mess in front of the guest.

Haseul smiled in response and introduced the two. “Can’t forget Aeongie as well,” she cooed at the cat as it jumped from Sooyoung’s arms to Haseul’s.

“She’s cute.” Chaewon gestured to Jiwoo in the oversized leather jacket.

“She’s also older than you,” Sooyoung said walking over and taking a seat next to Jinsol, making room for Chaewon who sat in the middle.

“Ah, as expected, another unnie.” The blonde smiled a crooked smile. “Yeojin says hi by the way.”

Haseul sat on the far side of the other couch as Jiwoo took a seat next to Jungeun on the right after washing her face. “How is she?”

“Besides the occasional pranking? She’s fine.” “Fine” seemed like the word Chaewon chose to describe everyone in any situation. “She’s talking my ears off more than usual these days though.”

The cat walked off of the leader’s lap, purring as it went to each of the younger vampires, purring. Jungeun took notice of the collar, it had the same necklace as Yerim and Chaewon.

This time, curiosity got the best of her. “The necklace.” Jungeun took the cat’s necklace in her hand to examine. It was yellow in color.

“My coven’s necklace,” Chaewon spoke. “She seems to like you two. The brat usually doesn’t like anyone.”

At the mention of the cat, it turned around to face Chaewon and let out a hiss.

“Be quiet, brat.” The blonde rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, looking like a princess. “The necklace connects all the members together. It swirls colors when one of us is in danger.” She held her own necklace in her hand. “Mine swirled purple for Yerim, but she’s fine.” Adding the last part of the sentence in, learning from her mistake after telling Jinsol and Vivi.

“Where is she now?” Haseul asked, eyes growing dark. They thought they were doing something by taking out a feeding ring, but Jiu seemed to be moving faster.

“At her shop. She was attacked right outside of it when she was coming back from lunch.” Chaewon scoffed and then continued, “attacking on protected grounds as if it’d do anything.”

“If that’s so, it was probably just a scare tactic.” Haseul reasoned. “We encountered Jiu outside of the shop too. She apparently has been keeping tabs on us. She knew we were coming in and out of the place.”

“Her ego’s so big, she knows she can’t rule this city with the clan in the way.” Chaewon played with the ring on her finger.

Jiwoo and Jungeun looked at each other confused. Necklace of a witch with a daywalker ring of a vampire.

“Ever met a hybrid?” Chaewon smirked, noticing the looks on the newer clan members. “Mom says I’m special, but I already know that.”

“Where do you get your cockiness from because it isn’t from me,” Jinsol commented.

A small chuckle could be heard as they turned to look at Sooyoung who was smirking to herself.

“Oh god, I forgot how annoying you could get sometimes.” Jinsol rolled her eyes at Sooyoung who only smirked again in response.

“What are we going to do about the situation?” Haseul spoke up, playing her role of keeping the members on track.

“Who attacked exactly?” Vivi asked.

“I didn’t recognize either of them. A witch and a short haired vampire.” 

“Like Haseul said, seems like a scare tactic that’s making us question whether to keep Yerim close to us or we should still keep away from her since none of the older members were present.” Vivi leaned back on the couch as the cat stretched out and laid on her lap.

“Yerim’s not going to want to stick together. She has a business to run and a human life she has to attend to.” Chaewon got up from her seat as the cat climbed up the blonde and laid lazily on her shoulder. “I just came as a messenger. I’ll be walking Yerim home like I usually do. Probably stick around until Hyejoo or Heejin calls too.”

Jinsol stood up. “Please stay safe and take care of each other. Dreamcatcher isn’t playing around.”

“We will and I know they mean business from the looks of it.” It was obvious to her that Jungeun was thrown out into the sun. It was a common sign when the brunette kept massaging her arms as if they were still burned although everything physical was healed.

“I wish you could stay longer.” Jinsol pouted and hugged the smaller girl as Sooyoung got up to do the same. 

“Me too.” Chaewon tried to get out of the small group hug as her parents squeezed tighter before letting go. “It was nice meeting you two. I’d love to hang around and chat, but I gotta bounce.” 

The two waved her bye, not knowing what else to do as they just met the girl. They had so many questions, but stayed quiet, not sure if it was their place to ask or not, figuring they’d get answers later anyways.

The blonde hybrid and cat disappeared in a quick swirl of eden green and yellow colors. Jiwoo and Jungeun gave each other another look. There weren’t many witches that could teleport, let alone teleport with another living creature.

“We should have mentioned that we have an extended member to the clan,” Haseul explained. “She used to be around more when she was younger, but she’s always been more of a witch than a vampire by heart.”

“So like a subunit?” Jiwoo asked, referring to the most similar thing she could think of.

Haseul let out a laugh. “Like a subunit,” she repeated.


	16. 1882

1882

“Don’t you get bored sometimes?” Jinsol asked as they got ready for the night. “Seems like I’m the only one not having as much fun as I used to these days.”

“If you have something to say then just say it.” Sooyoung sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, waiting for the blonde to be done.

“I just—,” Jinsol paused and frowned. “We’re immortal Sooyoung.” She walked over and got closer, lowering her voice. “We could be doing so many things that sometimes killing off all of these helpless humans just seem trivial, yet that seems like all we’ve been doing for the past 100 years or so.”

“You guys ready to go?” Another voice interrupted their conversation as Jinsol stood back up straight.

“Yeah, just give me a second, Jiu.” The blonde’s face went back to her usual carefree smile as she picked up shoes to put on.

“You’re with me tonight.” Jiu smirked, pulling Sooyoung up by the hand and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Sooyoung kept her eyes on Jinsol, the blonde seemed like she didn’t just question their whole purpose in this life as she chatted away happily with Siyeon and Bora. 

“Isn’t my new blade so pretty?” Siyeon pulled it out of the sheath. “I don’t know why you prefer your knives over something like this.” She started twirling the sword around and slicing the air.

“You’re complaining about the knives when you’re the one that gave them to me?” Jinsol rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed.

“The old ones you came in with were so bland.”

“Leave her alone. The knives are cute,” Bora said as she put her arm around the blonde’s shoulders.

“Cute? You know how many people I’ve killed with this?” Jinsol shrugged off the arm. “Why are you guys always teasing me?” She whined.

They both laughed, but didn’t answer the pouting vampire as they walked out of the house.

The clan wore their most outlandish clothes, all black with parts of their skin showing, something no woman dared to do. People stared and talked as they passed, but it only made their confidence go up, knowing that none of these people opinions mattered if they’d eventually die anyways.

There was a small town they arrived at that was rumored to have an orphanage full of witches that were suppressed of using their powers due to fear of the unknown. 

“Seungyeon’s clan is around and wants to join in on this one, but they’ll be fashionably late like always. We’ll just start the party first so they can easily find us.” Jiu took a swig from her bottle before pouring it in front of a house and setting it on fire. “This is going to be fun. Imagine the little abandon witches waking up in their new lives wanting revenge on those who’ve done them wrong. They’ll do most of the killing for us.” She grabbed for Sooyoung’s hand again.

“Let me go with Jinsol tonight.” Sooyoung lightly shook off the hand. “She’s been feeling a bit sentimental about old times when it was just us two, so I thought maybe this might do her some good.”

Jiu smiled although she wasn’t happy about the sudden change in plans. “Jinsol’s always been a lot softer than the rest of us. Makes me wonder how you two have been together for so long with such difference in personalities.”

“Siyeon and Bora adore her just fine.” Sooyoung knew Jiu favored her and hated the way the leader would make small offhand comments about Jinsol in a way to make it seem not insulting.

“I adore her too. I was just pointing out how opposites attract sometimes.” Jiu tried reaching out for Sooyoung again, but the icy vampire crossed her arms. “Oh, come on, Sooyoung.”

“I’m going with Jinsol tonight. Take the other two.” She walked away before Jiu could say anything more. She linked her arm with Jinsol who had been helping the other members with lighting up another house.

“I thought Jiu wanted you with her?” Jinsol questioned after Bora got a bit whiny that she hasn’t been killing with the blonde lately.

“I asked to switch,” Sooyoung simply explained.

“If this is about what I said earlier then just forget about it. I was just in a mood is all.”

“Since when have you been one to lie to me?” The slightly taller of the two asked, but didn’t make eye contact.

“What do you mean?” Sooyoung hated when Jinsol played dumb, both knowing the blonde was anything but that no matter how absent minded she usually acted. 

“Say what you want to say to me. Don’t take it back as if you can’t talk to me about how you really feel.” Sooyoung stopped in her tracks making them both stand still as they stared at each other. “I would never pick anyone over you and I’m sorry if I’ve been making you doubt that.”

“Sooyoung.” There was pain behind Jinsol’s eyes, more than she thought she would have at the other vampire’s reassurance. “I don’t doubt you. I’m just scared.”

“We do what we have to do tonight and then we talk.” Sooyoung pulled them along. “Since the start, we’ve agreed that clans are clans, but in the end, it’ll always be just us two okay? Nothing’s changed.”

Jinsol nodded as she held onto Sooyoung’s hand. “Jiu would never let us out that easily.”

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes, but right now, let’s just feed. I’m getting hungry.” Sooyoung knocked on the door of a house.

It only took several minutes for a man to open the door, questioning why they were there in the middle of the night. He was such an easy target, stepping out to close the door behind him, afraid of making noise that’ll wake his family.

Sooyoung took the opportunity and yanked him over, pushing him towards Jinsol who quickly sank her teeth into his neck. His screams were muffled by the hand over his mouth as he started to feel dizzy from the blood loss. 

Jinsol tossed him before bending down to bite her own wrist, dripping some of her blood into the man’s mouth. Sooyoung opened the door, picked up the man, and threw him back in.

It was a routine they often did after joining the clan. Jiu smiled as she first explained to them of how it just made sense to only turn one person in a house. Let them wake up with no control over their blood lust as they kill off the rest of their family. It was evil, but Jiu had no concept of what that meant. With so much power, they could do whatever they wanted with almost no consequences.

The orphanage was easy to spot after being down with several other kills. The tall metal front gate was already pried open, indicating that their members were probably already in. They pushed the heavy ajar door open to hear screams and saw blood on the floor. The stairs creaked as they slowly made their way up. Some rooms were open while others were closed, but there was only one with lights spilling out from the gap under the door of one them.

Their footsteps made prints of red as they walked. Jinsol tried twisting the doorknob of the lit room, but it didn’t budge. She gripped it tighter in her hand before giving it an even harder twist, ripping the handle from the wood before kicking her way in. In the middle of the floor was a blonde girl with her legs crossed. Their entrance only made her slightly flinch, but other than that, she didn’t look scared even as they circled her. She was surrounded by her own circle of candles and other objects. For an orphanage of suppressed witches, this one didn’t seem too powerless.

They hissed at her threateningly, but she only kept her hands slightly raised up by her side as they bled through her balled up fists. 

“Are you not afraid?” Sooyoung asked with her voice low.

“What’s to fear if we all die anyways?” The small blonde kept a straight face as she had her eyes trained on the two intruders.

Jinsol went behind her and swept the girl’s hair to the back, exposing her neck. “For someone so young to accept death is a great gift.” The vampire softly pierced the skin with her teeth, making it as painless as possible.

The girl only grunted briefly, but other than that, made no noise of fear or discomfort.

Sooyoung took her place on the other side of the girl’s neck and sank her teeth in as well, but quickly pulled away when the witch held onto her hand. Sooyoung stood up from the sudden contact and let Jinsol finish as she bite her own wrist again to feed to the now unconscious girl.

As they got up to leave, the girl let out a scream. They looked at each other in confusion. Transitions didn’t happen that quick or did they ever have the victim emit swirls of lights around their body.

“What spell was she casting?” Sooyoung asked, pulling Jinsol behind her.

“I don’t know. Some blood magic? I mean, her hands were freakin’ bleeding.” They’ve turned witches before, but they’ve never experienced this.

The girl on the ground curled up into a ball before seemingly going unconscious again. The two vampires got close and bent down to check the result of their victim, but as Jinsol reached out, her arm was grabbed.

“Please don’t leave me,” the girl cried out. She blindly stared up with blood leaking out of eyes, replacing what should have been tears. “Mother, please.”

Jinsol looked at Sooyoung not knowing what to do.

“We need to go.” The dark haired vampire pulled at Jinsol’s arm.

“I can’t just leave her. She just called me mother for christ sakes. Who does that?” Jinsol’s voice was in a panic.

“You’re not her mother. She’s a witch. She’s just playing tricks, manipulating you.” Sooyoung tugged at her arm again.

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol said, not knowing what she was pleading for while still holding the crying girl in her arms.

She let out a small growl. “You wanted out didn’t you? I guess your prayers have been answered.”

“It’s not supposed to happen this fast. We said we were going to talk about it.” Jinsol was conflicted. She did want to leave the clan because no matter how much time has passed, the only person she still considered family was Sooyoung, but if they left, their lives would be in danger.

“Well, it’s happening, and what’s there to talk about? I know you’ve been thinking about this for awhile now. You haven’t seemed happy and I should have said something, but I wanted you to come to me first.”

“What are we supposed to do? Take the kid and run? I’m not sure if I’m ready to take care of a newborn.” Jinsol lifted the smaller blonde up into her arms.

“Like you said, she called you mother. Let’s just hope she doesn’t try to kill us. As if Jiu coming after us won’t be enough trouble. And if the little witch does want to kill us, we’ll get rid of the problem easily.” Sooyoung started walking out of the room as Jinsol followed, but stopped when she came face to face with someone.

“Yeeun.” Sooyoung tried to block the two behind her out of view, but she knew it was pointless.

“What are you doing?” The other vampire peered into the room. “We don’t keep any younglings, especially witches.”

“Why are you telling me something I already know?” There was no point in hiding it anymore when the situation was obvious. “Move out of my way, Yeeun.”

“What are you going to do? Jiu trusts you, Sooyoung. You’re breaking her rules.”

“I know she trusts me, but I don’t hear Jinsol’s name coming out of your mouth when you speak of trust. You know where my loyalty lies and I can’t be in a clan knowing the leader doesn’t have Jinsol’s back.”

“You’re brave, I’ll give you that, but I can’t let you just leave.” Yeeun blocked the door, fangs extended.

“Out of all people, I thought you’d understand.” Sooyoung looked a bit hurt by what was said. “How many times have you come to me for a listening ear? Not once have I told anyone or judged you for sticking around even though you’ve been dissatisfied with all of this pointlessness.”

Yeeun clenched her teeth. “They’re my family. I owe them my life.”

“Jinsol is my family. The only person I owe my life to is her, you know that.” Sooyoung reached behind to tug the quiet blonde closer. “I’m sorry I can’t take you with me. I know you wouldn’t leave even if I asked, but please just let us go.”

The vampire before them let out a sigh and moved away from the door. It was true that she confided in Sooyoung when she was afraid of telling her own members the truth. “You only have a few minutes. Our clans are supposed to meet up. I can’t lie to them.”

“Then don’t, but we’re leaving and we’re not coming back, even if it means we’ll be hunted.” Sooyoung used her free hand to place behind Yeeun’s neck to pull her in for one last kiss on the forehead. “I hope one day you’ll be free to do what you want.”

“Me too, but if we meet again on opposite sides, just know I won’t be able to let you go again.”

“I know. Thank you, Yeeun,” Sooyoung said gratefully as she walked passed the girl with Jinsol and the small blonde in tow.

Living for so long meant being thrusted into different situations endlessly. With so much time to overthink, nothing was ever a permanent deal even though they’d like to pretend it was. Vampires moved from clan to clan with passing of members and leaders, but leaving unannounced was often punished by death.


	17. COMMON ENEMY

“Do you smell that?” Haseul asked as they walked through the woods.

“Blood.” Jiwoo answered for the group. 

She took another whiff of the air around them. “Smells like the pups.” 

“Should we head another way?” Vivi was ready to turn around. 

“No, let’s see what’s going on. I don’t hear much noise, so whatever happened seems to be over.” Haseul lead them through as the trees got thicker.

The smell of blood got more strong that they wondered if the werewolves they sensed were even alive anymore, but their question was answered when they saw the two younger pups from before laying next to each other.

“Heartbeats, but faint.” Jinsol went ahead to check out the situation. “Could be a trap. Stay here,” she said taking careful steps as the others kept their eyes open for potential threats.

She reached for the smaller of the two when a bloody hand tried reaching out for her.

“Don’t touch her,” the taller of the two werewolves growled out.

“Look, we’re not here to fight or anything. We were on our way out when we smelled you guys.” Jinsol looked down at the young girl who could barely open her eyes from the amount of blood that was blocking her vision. She looked back at her clan and motioned Haseul over. “With your permission, we would like to help.”

The girl looked hesitate at first, but came to the conclusion that they’d die either way whether it was by the vampires or by blood loss. “Please help her first.” She pointed weakly over to her unconscious friend.

“There’s enough hands to help the both of you. What’s your name?” Haseul asked while rummaging through Jinsol’s backpack for supplies. “I need you to try to stay awake for me, can you do that?”

The girl nodded. “Doyeon. That’s Yoojung.”

“Ok good, Doyeon. These are a mix of herbs that will stop the bleeding.” Haseul showed the material in her hands before passing them off to Jinsol to work on. “We’re going to need take care of that before moving you guys, but if it’s the hospital you need to go to, you know it’s dangerous for us to head there.”

“The device in my jacket.” Doyeon motioned to her clothing that was a bit far away. “You can just press and hold on to the red button. It signals my pack to my location.

Vivi went to go fetch the jacket, digging around the pockets until she found a small black walkie talkie like device and pressed the button before kneeling down to help. The rest of the clan stood around the group as they worked in case enemies came.

Haseul rolled Yoojung onto her side. The girl had a large gash on her back that ran from the left shoulder blade to the right side of her hip. Vivi poured water over the wound and did the same with a bottle of alcohol to save on material, and then took some of the herb paste Jinsol made to apply onto the girl.

“I’m assuming vampires attacked you?” Jinsol asked gently as she wiped away blood from the injured wolf’s head. “How long ago?”

“5, 10 minutes. I’m not too sure.” Doyeon grunted, trying to hold in the pain. “We were out patrolling when that clan you’ve talked about came out of nowhere. Dreamcatcher.”

Jinsol tensed at the mention of the other clan. “You should be healing faster than this, but you’re not.” She pointed out the obvious. “Poison?”

“Could be,” Doyeon’s voice trembled as the pain got more intense.

“That’s a whole different set of herbs.” The blonde looked up at Haseul who was thinking the same as the leader went into the backpack to get more things out. 

“About how long will it take for your pack to get here?” Haseul knitted her eyebrows together. “I’m not going to lie. You both need to go to a hospital as soon as possible. There’s only so much we could do.”

“Shouldn’t be long.” Doyeon’s voice was quieter as her eyelids drooped.

“Hey, hey, stay awake. You’re going to be fine, okay?” Jinsol gave light taps to the tall girl’s face as her eyes fluttered open. “You always knew this dangerous path was for you or what?” She questioned to try to keep the girl awake.

“Yoojung, I’ve known her since we were kids. We’re new to this, but we’re good, or that’s what we’ve been told. I’m not too sure anymore.”

“No, I’m sure you are. It’s just been shitty luck that you had to come across my clan and Dreamcatcher.” Jinsol looked up to catch Haseul’s eyes telling her the situation didn’t look too good. 

The three other standing members turned their heads to the direction sound was coming from. They took an offensive position knowing whoever was heading their way could attack first before asking questions.

The wolf’s leader and the two second in command in their werewolf form came into view with anger in their eyes.

Haseul stood with her arms up to let Vivi take over tending to Yoojung’s wounds. “We didn’t attack them. We’re not here as enemies.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Nayoung didn’t get a chance to get closer to Haseul as Sooyoung stood in between, something that seemed to happen often, but the smaller leader lightly pushed her aside telling her that it was okay.

“There’s not really much time to chat. You need to get your members to a hospital. They’re losing too much blood and we’re suspecting that they’ve been poisoned because they’re not healing as fast as they should be.” 

Nayoung’s face paled as she walked past the vampires and to her members. 

“If you’d just let us put on some medicine that will absorb the poison, we’ll let you on your way with them.” Haseul still had her arms up in case the pack still thought she was a threat.

Nayoung bent down as Jinsol stood up from the injured girl. “Doyeon.” 

“They’re helping. Please, Yoojung.” Doyeon nodded her head to the other girl who was still on her side.

Nayoung looked up at Haseul. “Do what you have to do.”

The vampires took their positions back to the werewolves and started to apply the new set of mixed herbs on the wounds.

“After 15 minutes, scrap the medicine off. The bleeding has already stopped, but they’re probably going to need a transfusion with what they’ve lost. I don’t know about their internal injuries though,” Haseul explained as she got to work quickly.

“I’m going to lift her up.” Jinsol motioned to Doyeon.

“I’ll do it.” Nayoung placed her arms under Doyeon as the blonde stood out of the way, not wanting to interfere.

Haseul stood as well, watching the pack’s leader place the tall girl on the back of one of the wolves. She returned to pick up Yoojung and did the same as she signaled for her two members to go.

Nayoung turned her attention back to the clan. “Talk.”

“Like I said. We were helping. We were on our way out when we found them like that.” Haseul was still covered in blood, but it didn’t seem to bother her as much as it did with Nayoung. The younger girl was trying to wipe her hands of her member’s blood.

“Why does that sound so unlikely? I don’t care that Doyeon said you were helping. For all I know, this could just be a ploy to try to convince us you’re on our side,” Nayoung sneered.

“Yet you’re standing here alone and my clan looks anything but threatening. If anything, they look rather bored.” Haseul glanced back at her members who were talking amongst themselves. “Doyeon mentioned a clan’s name. Dreamcatcher ring any bells?”

Nayoung straightened up. “Dreamcatcher doesn’t leave people alive.”

“Well they did, probably thinking the poison would kill them anyways. You should be grateful that it was probably just a warning to you and your wolves.”

“And you just happen to find them.” Nayoung was still not convinced. “My hunter reported back to me. The club in the red light district ring any bells?”

Haseul scoffed. “I left that hunter alive to give a message to Jiu, but I guess it’s my fault for thinking that’d work out. I was hoping she wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to lie to you about it, but that’s my fault.” The leader clicked her teeth in annoyance. “Ask me how I think your pups have been poisoned. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jiu obtained it from your hunters.”

“They wouldn’t be that sloppy.” 

“Or they just don’t care. Why were your hunters spotted in a feeding ring only known by vampires?” Haseul watched as Nayoung tried to come up with something. “A leader should attend to their pups who are clinging to life rather than talking to some vampires who just might have saved your pups lives.”

“Stop telling me what a leader should and should not do,” Nayoung yelled out.

“I wouldn’t have to if you acted the part better. Tell me, who trained you because it sure wasn’t Jihyo.”

Nayoung raised her eyebrows at the mention of the name. “You know Jihyo?”

“I know many wolves, but I’ve never heard of you. If you want answers, call Jihyo. We need to talk anyways.” Haseul started walking away. “We’re done here. Go take care of your pups. And try to stay away from the woods, would you.”

“It’s our home.”

“Not as long as Jiu is around. She’s obviously trying to make it uninhabitable.” Haseul led the clan to walk past the wolf as she did nothing to stop them from leaving.

“Who’s Jihyo?” Jiwoo asked, finally speaking up from just observing the situation. It seemed that was a lot of what her and Jungeun were doing as they were still trying to get into the flow of how everything worked with this clan.

“A wolf that has been around longer than the ones we’ve been dealing with. She trained for some ungodly amount of years before becoming who she is today,” Haseul explained. “A respectful werewolf. One that knows that not everything is so black and white.”

The younger ones hummed in response. It wasn’t unheard of for vampires and werewolves to be on friendly terms with each other, but it was a lot rarer these days with vampires being hunted more than usual. 

“As much as we don’t want to involve Yerim, she’s already involved isn’t she?” Vivi hated the idea of asking the younger girl for help. “With the witch on their side, there’s no way we’ll be able to track them and our cloaking stones probably only have a day left.”

Haseul sighed. “You’re right. It’d probably be a lot better if we talk to her soon rather than trying to protect her from staying away since that doesn’t seem to be working.”


	18. OPEN GROUND

“Do you guys hear that?” Vivi asked as they got a few blocks from Yerim’s shop.

“It’s a bit too quiet,” Jungeun replied taking notice of how still the air was.

“Exactly.” 

They knew eyes were on them as they walked the streets, but they couldn’t do anything about it now. It wasn’t long before they felt themselves getting surrounded. 

The first batch came from behind restaurants and other stores, a hoard of vampires pouring out from alleys before more from all different directions.

“Get Jungeun to Yerim’s. Now.” Haseul pushed the two younger ones as they tried making a path. As healed as Jungeun was, she didn’t want to risk it if she still wasn’t in good mental and physical condition to fight.

The leader grabbed a vampire by the face as it flew at her, shoving him back, bringing down a few others on the way.

Jinsol took out her knives as she threw one while running, hitting a vampire square in the chest as it was knocked off its feet from the impact and turned to dust before it even reached the ground. She ran for the knife, ducking down to grab it, and rammed it into another’s heart. Jinsol turned to throw her second knife at a vampire that was getting too close to Vivi. The older vampire’s pink hair was dyed red from the amount of blood that was already all over her.

“You’re always so messy,” Jinsol commented, making her way over.

“Shut up, knife twirling loser.” Vivi wiped at her mouth as her other free hand went up to another enemy’s throat. She threw the much taller vampire back at Jinsol who already had her knife up to turn to dust from behind.

“You always make fun of me yet you still let me have my fun.”

“That’s because you’re my knife twirling loser.” Vivi smiled but it dropped just as fast when she saw who was behind the blonde. 

Jinsol turned around, her playful smile dropping as well before yelling at her clan that was up front. “We’ll hold them back. Just get to Yerim’s!”

Haseul looked back and hesitated, but with the amount of vampires surrounding them, they weren’t getting far no matter how many they were killing off. “If you have to, you run. Do you understand?”

She got nods in return before heading off with the other three, trying to lead most of the enemies away as Jinsol and Vivi dealt with another problem.

“How fitting that it’s you two again. The last fight wasn’t really fair now was it?” The black haired vampire spoke.

“It’s not my fault your neck was so easy to snap,” Vivi said nonchalantly.

Bora growled and took a step forward, but was stopped by a sword. “I get the pink haired bitch.” Siyeon had her eyes on Vivi.

“You fought her last time.” Bora shoved the sword away from her.

The taller blonde snarled and moved her eyes to the other target. “Fine. I guess it’s you and me, Sol. A little sparring like old times. Cute that you still have the knives I gave you too.”

“Are you blind? Don’t flatter yourself. These ones are a gift from Haseul.” Jinsol twirled one of the knives to show the handle of a different design.

Siyeon scoffed and raised her sword. 

“Finally, you guys done bickering?” Vivi was fixing her hair as an annoyed Bora came running at her. She stepped to the left and grabbed the other’s arm to swing her around as she got close, using her other hand to wrap around her enemy’s throat. “I’m going to make sure you stay down this time.”

Bora smirked at the threat. “Let’s see how long you can stay standing up to try.”

Vivi frowned, finally feeling pricks at the side of her neck. She brushed at it and pulled back to find two thin but about three inch long needles. “What are these?”

“Now, it wouldn’t be much fun if I told you right?” Bora smirked again as she twisted the arm that was at her throat.

Vivi grunted and her knees bent from the pain, but used that opportunity to ram her body against Bora’s lower half, bringing them both down. Bora immediately used her right foot that was under Vivi to throw the other vampire over her head as she fell to obtain her position on top. Landing on her back with a grunt, a fist came down as Vivi moved her head the side, causing the punch to hit nothing but concrete. 

The vampire on the bottom pulled the wrist next to her head to get Bora to lose balance, making her fall to her elbow. With the second she had, Vivi yanked the taller girl down close by her collar and placed her right shin across the other’s chest from underneath and swept her to the side. Before Vivi could get on top, Bora backed away and kicked the other woman squarely on the chest, knocking her back down.

Vivi got up quickly, but a wave of dizziness rushed over her as she steadied herself and shook her head from the weird sensation. She looked up to see that smug look on Bora. “Are you really that scared of fighting me when I’m at my best?”

The smirk was wiped off of Bora’s face in an instant. “I’m not scared of you or anyone else. I just need you bowing at my feet before I let you watch me kill everyone or should I kill you in front of everyone first instead?” The taller vampire put her thumb and pointer finger under her chin as if she was thinking. “I haven’t really decided yet.”

Vivi snarled and rushed for the woman. She felt her movements become sluggish as she tried throwing a punch and was met with one square to the jaw instead. Vivi staggered back and spat out a glob of blood from her mouth. Before she could react, a knee made its way to her stomach. A second knee came as she was able to block it with both hands. The third hit combo that came up was grabbed from behind the knee, Vivi using the momentum to tug the other woman to the side, but she was too slow as Bora spun them around and slammed Vivi onto her stomach.

Vivi groaned and got up on her hands before a foot behind her upper back pushed her down again, her cheek scraping against the ground.

“I’m going to make sure you stay down this time,” Bora repeated the line Vivi had said to her earlier. 

The dark haired woman took a hold of Vivi’s arm with her foot still on her back and yanked at it in an awkward angle until she heard a snap.

Vivi screamed in pain as she felt her shoulder being pulled out of its socket. She tried to get the foot that was still on her back off, but whatever that was in those needles made her feel too weak.

Jinsol laid on her back with her knives up blocking Siyeon’s sword from coming down onto her face. She turned her attention to the right when she heard Vivi scream. With a spurt of strength, Jinsol pushed the sword back up and moved her head to the side, having the blade hit the ground next to her head. She got up on her elbow and threw one of her knives at Bora, who was grabbing onto Vivi’s other arm.

Bora yelled out in a mix of pain and anger. She tried reaching her arm back to pull out the knife that was impaled in her back, but her fingers were mere centimeters away from it. She let out another yell of frustration and locked eyes with Jinsol.

The blonde didn’t keep the eye contact as Siyeon’s sword came down at her again. Jinsol rolled away, getting up on her knees and sliced the back of the other blonde’s calves causing her to get on her knees as well while using her sword to hold herself up.

Jinsol turned her attention back to Vivi. Bora had a grip on the pink haired vampire’s injured arm, dragging her towards the blondes as Vivi struggled to get up on her feet.

Siyeon tried to stand up, but Jinsol threw her other knife on one of the vampire’s already wounded leg. She ran over and kicked Siyeon’s sword out of her hand, picked it up, and placed the woman’s own weapon at her throat.

“Funny how things turn out doesn’t it, Sol?” Siyeon let out a little laugh as the blade pressed closer to her neck. “To think we loved you.”

“Stop,” Jinsol whispered through gritted teeth.

Bora’s grip became tighter as she yanked Vivi up to her knees. The other woman couldn’t do anything but let a cry of pain out as waves of nausea and pain hit.

“Stop!” Jinsol yelled this time. “I loved you! I loved both of you!” Her voice started to tremble as she choked out, “but I couldn’t stay.”

“You left us!” Bora yelled back angrily, her other hand coming down on Vivi’s throat as her nails bubbled up blood from digging them in. “You just got up and left without even saying goodbye.”

“Jiu would have never let me out alive. She didn’t care for me like how she did for you guys or Sooyoung.” Jinsol hated recalling past memories she wanted so bad to forget. “Did she ever tell you that she planned on killing me?”

“You’re lying.” Siyeon tried looking up at the blonde, but was blade at her neck told her not to.

“I’m sorry for what I put you both through, but all those years, I have never lied to you and I’m not going to start now.” Jinsol eyes wandered to Vivi who had them closed tight. “You can do what you want with me, but please let her go.”

Bora hand tugged Vivi’s hair back so that her neck was exposed more and growled out, “I should kill her in front of you.”

Jinsol slid Siyeon’s blade slowly at her throat, letting Bora watch blood begin to drip down. “I won’t hesitate to do the same.”

Siyeon stayed silent, not showing any sign of fear as her own blood dripped onto her hands. She caught Bora’s stare who softened for a second, confliction in her eyes.

Bora huffed and shoved Vivi face down onto the ground in surrender. “She might as well be dead anyways.”

Jinsol didn’t waste any time in rushing over as Bora also made her way to help Siyeon up. The blonde tucked her enemy’s sword in her belt, having a feeling she wouldn’t be getting her knives back either. Jinsol carefully turned Vivi around, cursing at how out of it she looked and lifted her up in her arms to get away from the scene as fast as possible.

“Vivi,” Jinsol finally called out, trying to get the woman in her arms to respond to her. “Vivi, what the hell happened?” She’s couldn’t see any physical injuries that would cause the older vampire to look so much in pain when they’ve endured much worse than this.

“Needles. Must be poison or something.” She finally opened her eyes from clenching it from the dizziness. “I can walk.”

“Are you sure?” Jinsol held her tighter.

They rounded the corner of a restaurant when she saw a bunch of other vampires roaming around. Jinsol silently cursed at her pathway to Yerim’s shop was blocked.

“Yeah, you can’t fight with no hands anyways.” 

“We could find a way around.”

“They’re everywhere. Any way is as good as it’s probably going to get.” In truth, Vivi wanted to just lay down. She wanted them to fight their way through and get it over with.


	19. LITTLE ONES

Heads and limbs were torn apart as the rest of the clan made their way to Yerim’s. The hoard started to disappear as they got close enough to see the shop’s front, the purple sign of “Choerry’s Cave” lit up in the night.

It was a clear shot from there until Haseul felt herself freeze in place, not being able to move a muscle. In the corner of her eye, she could see Sooyoung in the same position.

The younger ones turned around sensing something off to hear a familiar voice echo out, “Don’t you just hate feeling helpless?”

“You really are afraid to fight me aren’t you?” Haseul said from her frozen spot.

Jiu scoffed, but smiled after. “Wouldn’t it be fun to watch a showdown between the little ones instead?” She had the witch and three other vampires next to her. “Or you two could just join me. It’s not too late.”

“After what you’ve done? No thanks.” Jiwoo pulled Jungeun behind her.

“Oh come on, mothers have to punish their children when they’re being naughty.” She frowned. “What does Haseul have that I don’t? I could offer you so much more.” Her face was between anger and disappointment.

Jiu shook her head and motioned for the three vampires to step forward. “I can’t have my little ones running around knowing they could come back to try to kill me now could I?”

“Doesn’t seem like a fair fight.” Sooyoung watched as the three circled Jungeun and Jiwoo.

“Oh honey, the word fair doesn’t belong in fights. You know that.” She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile that almost reached her ears.

“I get the cute baby faced one,” another redhead called out as she ran for Jiwoo.

The smaller redhead moved to the side, blocking the punch with both her hands before kicking the back of the enemy’s knee and twisting her arm behind. “That’s rude. My girlfriend’s cute too.” 

The taller one responded with swiping her leg back, but Jiwoo being faster, jumped out of the way. She glanced at Jungeun, hating how the match was uneven, with two vampires coming at her when she was still a bit weak from torture of the sun. 

Jiwoo’s focus turned back to the vampire that was a head taller than her when a kick came her way. She was able to block it again and countered with her own kick that landed squarely on the other’s chest.

“Yoohyeon!” Jiu yelled out in a more commanding voice than concern.

The said woman staggered back by the kick, surprised at how strong the much smaller vampire was. Yoohyeon let out a snarl and dusted herself off before coming for Jiwoo again. She delivered another kick, but again, it was blocked. A fury of kicks and punches were thrown out, but it was like the other vampire could see each move coming.

“Fight back,” Yoohyeon growled in frustration.

“You’re the one that wanted to fight and now you can’t even hit me?” Jiwoo taunted. She could do this all day. Hand to hand combat was her specialty.

Yoohyeon advanced and raised her arm before even reaching the other vampire. She threw it back in a wave like motion. Jiwoo’s body lifted off the ground and was thrown crashing through a glass front of a store.

Jungeun turned at the sound and was distracted when arms wrapped tight around her body from behind. Her mind snapped back to her current situation. Handong, the Chinese vampire that was sired by Jinsol, was coming at her. Jungeun jumped, using both her legs to kick at the woman as she advanced and then used that momentum to land back on her feet and throw the other vampire that had a grip on her over her shoulder.

Jiwoo groaned and stood up in surprise. Each wound closing one by one as she started picking out glass that were sticking out of her body. She gritted her teeth pulling one that went through her cheek, cutting her tongue. Jiwoo footsteps crunched as she walked on glass and back out of the store. 

“Hybrid,” Jiwoo said under her breath as the smirking vampire witch stayed standing where she was.

She let out a small yelp of pain when she felt another cut on the same spot of her cheek that just healed. Jiwoo placed her hand up to her face and drew it back to see blood. She looked up at Yoohyeon who had a hand up. Another wave and Jiwoo grunted again, cuts on her arms and stomach appeared, and another, but this time, falling to one knee, feeling cuts behind her legs.

Jungeun could feel her skin burning although the sun wasn’t there. It was one of the after effects that came with the torture. Every hit she took felt a little more painful than it should. She didn’t have to turn to know that Jiwoo needed help and knowing that made her forget about her own pain as she pounced on the short haired vampire, knocking her back into the other. Her hands grabbed the smaller of the two’s head as she bashed it repeatedly on the ground before moving on to her next target, not letting them have a chance to stand up. 

Jiwoo’s cuts healed, but not fast enough when more appeared. She only moved about a foot at a time, trying to approach the hybrid that still stood in the same spot. 

Jungeun roared, taking a hold of Handong, slamming her down onto the vampire with the bashed in skull. She didn’t waste time as she made her way over to Yoohyeon, but stopped when she couldn’t move. The hybrid turned to look at her, smirking before her attention went back to Jiwoo. 

The smaller redhead was about two feet away now, on her knees with a pool of blood beneath her as her body tried to heal the multiple cuts she endured. Jiwoo looked up to meet Yoohyeon’s eyes before the woman waved her hand again. Jiwoo’s hands immediately went up to her throat as blood gushed through her fingers. She crashed to the ground causing her own blood to paint the side of her body red.

A wave of the past hit Jungeun, having her own human life taken away from her with a slit of the throat. Jungeun couldn’t even scream out. The hybrid had a hold of her voice. She watched as the tall redhead bent down, grabbing a fistful of Jiwoo’s hair. 

Yoohyeon then let out a cry of pain of her own, letting go of Jiwoo before she could do what she was planning on doing. She stood up in a flash and turned to cast her eyes down at a small blonde with a black cat on her shoulder right in front of her face. 

“Maybe you should fight someone your own size.” Chaewon raised her hand as Yoohyeon went flying through the air, crashing into the two other vampires that were attempting to get back up.

The hold on Jungeun was gone as she ran for the injured girl. “Jiwoo,” she called out in concern. She knew they couldn’t die from just a simple slicing of the throat, but that split second where she recalled their past and how easy their lives ended made her fear for Jiwoo’s life.

“I’m okay,” the bleeding girl gasped out.

The wound on her neck was slowly healing along with the other cuts on her body. She was covered in blood from head to toe as Jungeun helped her up. The brunette took off her own jacket to place over Jiwoo’s shoulders to cover up her tattered clothes.

“Chaewon,” Jiu sneered but stayed in her spot.

“Hi.” The small blonde gave out a salute.

“Cute familiar. Be so sad when I kill it.” Yoohyeon was already up and advancing towards them.

The cat on Chaewon’s shoulder hopped off and stretched as the tall redhead got close, but before she could reach them, the animal jumped at the oncoming enemy. Yoohyeon was about to throw her hand up to attack when she felt her body crash to the floor, a girl with long black hair was on top of her.

“I’m nobody’s familiar, bitch.” The girl scoffed making her catlike features more prominent.

Jiwoo and Jungeun looked at each other confused, but it should really surprise them by now. The cat did have the same necklace as the rest of the coven and teleported when Chaewon did.

The new witch jumped up as Yoohyeon tried throwing magic at her. The girl didn’t show much facial expressions as she blocked what was thrown her way, throwing back her own attacks. 

Even in the night, one could see the scar that ran from the top of her right ear, across her cheek and chin, and down to her neck, going beyond what can be seen with her shirt covering the rest of the closed wound. She had the same pouch Chaewon had hanging off to the side and long hair that flew with the wind as she dodged more attacks.

Chaewon went for the other witch that had a hold of Sooyoung and Haseul still, but her magic was blocked.

Jiu smirked not even flinching as Chaewon tried to break down the barriers.

Chaewon smirked back. “You know your witch isn’t as strong as me.” The blonde held out her hand as a halberd appeared in it. With the bottom of it touching the ground, the weapon was a little more than twice her size with eden green feathers that attached to the end of the axe and spear head that meets the shaft. The appearance of the weapon also came with a transparent figure of a blonde werewolf and a small girl that was shorter than Chaewon herself. Both figures started materializing as she walked forward.

“Keeping an old enemy just to taunt me?” Jiu sneered. “Or is it a trophy to keep track of who I’ve killed?” Her face always going from angry to smug in a split second.

The wolf jumped at the invisible shield that was placed up. Its claws bashing at it as the magic got weaker. 

Sooyoung and Haseul felt themselves being able to move inch by inch as the witch that had a hold on them focused more on keeping the protection shield up.

The small materialized girl stood before them, opening her hands to blow out a dust of orange sparkling cloud.

Haseul stepped forward and then took another step as the freeze wore off and to stand in front of the girl. “Yeojin.”

The said girl had on a playful smile before jumping onto the vampire, giving her a hug.

“I’ve missed you.” Haseul eyebrows furrowed in sadness, kissing the girl on top of her head.

Yeojin smiled brightly again and tried saying something, but no words could be heard. It was something they were used to, having a one sided conversation because Haseul couldn’t talk to the dead.

“Jinsol and Vivi haven’t shown up. They should have been here by now,” Haseul voice was full of concern, not knowing what was going on with the rest of her clan.

Yeojin nodded and gave out a salute before disappearing and reappearing by Chaewon’s side. The small blonde gave a glance at Haseul before nodding as well, confirming that she was going to check up on the others.


	20. YOU AND I

Vampire dust layered the ground as Jinsol walked through it, holding up Vivi with one arm. The pink haired vampire’s moves were sluggish, having to be pulled up once in awhile as her legs started to give up. 

“There’s too many of them,” Jinsol whispered out as vampires circled them. No matter how many they killed, more kept popping up.

“Leaving me isn’t a choice?” Vivi had her eyes closed as she spoke. She barely knew what she was saying. At this point, she didn’t care what happened to her. She just wanted to rest.

“Is that even a question?” Jinsol’s voice came out angry, not letting her eyes leave the enemies as they slowly closed in, obviously enjoying this moment too much.

As all hope was lost, a section of the vampires came tumbling down on each other as a blonde werewolf rammed its way through.

“Sorry I’m a bit late!” Chaewon yelled out from behind the wolf. Her giant weapon then swung with such force that vampires were knocked off their feet, all crashing to one side.

“Bless that sweet child.” Jinsol lifted Vivi up in her arms. “Hang in there, love.” She kissed the woman’s cheek, but only got a groan in response.

Chaewon ran to her mother as the wolf fought off oncoming vampires. “What happened?” Her usual playful smile was in a frown as she approached them.

“Some sort of poison. I don’t know. It’s never been like this before.” Jinsol looked down at Vivi who still had her eyes closed, jaw clenched tight trying to keep in the pain.

Chaewon swept Vivi’s hair to the side to reveal black like veins forming on her neck where the needles were. “Witch’s magic, way stronger than hunter’s poison. Stay behind me. I’ll make a path.” But before she could attack, most of the vampires started running off in the direction they were going towards. “Yeojin, check ahead,” she called out as the little girl from before came into view with a nod and disappeared off again.

She couldn’t go far from the princess of the dead, but Yeojin was able to oversee more things than Chaewon could on the ground.

-

“You sent your most powerful witch away just when things were getting fun,” Jiu said as Yoohyeon and Gahyeon threw attack after attack at the black haired witch.

The vampires fought amongst themselves when even more came pouring in from behind Jiu, having heard the call of one of the witches.

Haseul let out a frustrated growl that they couldn’t seem to catch a break, but she spoke too soon when an arrow nicked the side of her face, making matters worse. She turned to the direction the attack came from and saw a hunter and then another appeared. Haseul didn’t have time to get rid of the pests when she heard Sooyoung yell out of pain. The taller vampire was on her knees, the shorter witch had a hold of her as she still had a smaller shield up with her other hand. 

Haseul changed her direction from the hunters when she saw Jiu stand in front of Sooyoung, both hands cupping her face, thumb running over her cheek before twisting the kneeling vampire’s neck as she fell forward into the enemy’s arms.

“Sooyoung!” Haseul yelled as she tried reaching for her. “Hyunjin!” She called out to the catlike witch who already knew what to do.

The said girl quickly threw up a few simple hand signs to cast a protection spell around herself as attacks tried to break through, causing ripples of different colored lights to hit the invisible shield. She opened the small pouch that was by her side, digging around before pulling out a small mirror. Keeping her eyes on the enemy, she tossed the mirror to the side in a lazy like manner. Right as the object hit the ground, a purple light emitted from it and out came Yerim welding her own attacks before she even set foot on the ground. 

Vampires came close but all went to their knees. First their eyes started to bleed, then their nose, then the rest of the openings on their faces as Yerim walked passed, creating a path for herself. Hyunjin followed closely behind, sending twin stakes flying from her seemingly too small pouch with the wave of her hands to turn the bleeding vampires to dust.

Haseul fought through more vampires, but as it cleared up, she could no longer see Sooyoung or Jiu. “No,” she whispered out. 

The leader ran looking around desperately, unaware that weapons were aimed at her as a metal arrow goes through the top of her back, just missing her heart. She cried out more in anger than pain as she reached a hand back to grab at the metal, but before she could touch it, she was pulled off her feet and dragged backwards by a chain that was attached to the end of the arrow shaft. She extended both arms back until she felt the cold metal in her hands and yanked it as hard as she could. Haseul heard a yelp as the hunter at the end of the weapon was the one off of his feet this time. He didn’t even have time to look up as the short haired vampire sprinted for him, smashing his face into the ground while pulling out the sharp metal from her back.

Haseul felt another arrow coming for her this time, turning around, it stopped inches from her face before turning the other direction, dusting a different vampire instead. She looked around to see the hunters now had their aim towards the witches, but as arrows and bullets came at Yerim, they stopped inches away from her before falling to the ground.

Hyunjin stepped out from behind the purple haired girl. “You may not hurt humans, but like Haseul says, “scum is scum” and I might as well take out a few kneecaps.” She shrugged as Yerim shook her head and held off the enemy witches instead.

The arrows and bullets that came for them this time did not drop, but instead, turned to hit right back at the shooters. One by one they dropped like flies. Screams of pain echoed, but Hyunjin felt no sympathy.

Yeojin, the little girl with Chaewon, appeared in front of Hyunjin, waving a finger back and forth before disappearing off by the hunters. 

Hyunjin scoffed. “Brat.” Knowing most witches didn’t hurt humans since they’re not supernatural, but she rarely followed the rules when the humans were attacking her and her family.

Yeojin slowly raised both her hands up from her sides before quickly bringing them down, making the ground open up under the hunters. Chaewon came into the picture, using her halberd to raise the dead to pull the hunters beneath as they were buried alive.

“Yerim, open your shop now!” Chaewon yelled out as she made way for Jinsol with Vivi in her arms. The witch had a spell up that blocked every outsider from coming into her place.

Yerim nodded, saying a few words to let down the shield before putting it back up when the members got inside.

Haseul had the short haired vampire up by the throat as she told Jungeun and Jiwoo to follow the rest of the clan to safety. “Where did she take Sooyoung?” She demanded.

When she didn’t get an answer, Haseul grabbed the vampire’s left bicep, nails digging into it before giving it a twist and pulling the arm completely off of the shoulder. The vampire screamed, thrashing her legs and using her other arm, desperately try to get out of the vice like grip. 

Haseul was about to go for the other still intact limb when she felt someone coming for her from behind. She turned to see the Chinese vampire frozen in her place, Yerim forcing her on her knees as her other arm was up, blocking the magic Yoohyeon was shooting at her.

Handong screamed out, clenching her head as blood started to leak from her eyes. A particular strong blow from the hybrid caused Yerim’s body to shift slightly forward. She turned her head as another attack was sent her way, but this time, instead of her palm open towards the enemy, she clenched it with her fingers facing up. Yoohyeon’s magic formed into a ball of energy before Yerim opened her hand and flung the attack back. The hybrid threw her arms up to block it, but the force still knocked her off her feet.

Yerim turned back to Handong, purple lightning like stakes came out from her hands. “I can’t harm humans, but vampires are a different story.”

“Stop!” Yerim’s stakes immediately disappeared as she heard Haseul yell out, but the protection shield was still up as attacks bounced off of it from behind. 

“Jiu has Sooyoung and I don’t know what she’ll do if her members end up dead.” Haseul still had the vampire in the air as she turned to the others. “I could kill you all, but you’re going to go to Jiu and you’re going to tell her if she harms Sooyoung or if,” her voice trailed, “I will not stop until each one of you is dead.” She threw the vampire so hard, they could hear bone crunching as the body hit a wall of a store. 

Haseul knew they were long gone. It was no use in running after Sooyoung to try to find her without a plan.

All magic was stopped. All around them was just dust and red. No signs of any bodies to indicate whose blood any of it belonged to.

Haseul was shaking as they all made their way to Yerim’s after the fight. With the same words and a wave of the younger girl’s hand, they entered the shop to find more chaos.

Vivi laid on the counter coughing up thick black blood as Jinsol stood by her side holding her hand.

“What happened?” Haseul came running to her other side. She had wanted to devise a plan to track Sooyoung down, but there was another member that needed her as well.

“Where’s Mama?” Chaewon asked.

“Tell me what happened first.”

“It’s a blood magic spell,” Chaewon informed the members that just walked through. “There’s no way it was one of those witches that did it right?” She didn’t fight them long to know how strong they were, but not many witches dabbled in dark magic and was good at it.

“With Dreamcatcher, they have too many resources. There could be more witches for all we know.” Yerim rolled up her sleeves as she approached the counter. “You tried sucking out the contaminated blood with spells?”

Chaewon nodded. “I tried several things, but we need something more than just the herbs in your shop.”

Yerim checked the black veins that were on Vivi, it now traveled down her left arm and covered her lower chin. She shook her head, recognizing the symptoms. “We need unicorn hair.”

“I wasn’t going to result to that.” Chaewon gave her a look.

“That exists?” Jiwoo was just as bloody as before resting in Jungeun’s arms.

“It’s just a name. I only know of one guy that might have it,” Yerim said, choosing to ignore the small blonde.

“Might,” Haseul repeated. She needed a clear answer. Too much was already going through her head at the moment.

“It’s rare and expensive, only sold in the black market.” Yerim started to walk around the shop, shoving items that were way bigger than the pouch she put them in. 

“Now, where’s Mama?” Chaewon asked again after the taller woman still hasn’t entered the shop.

“Jiu took her,” Haseul simply said.

“What?” Chaewon walked over as the other members looked up.

Vivi gasped for air that she didn’t need as her body shook with another coughing fit, spouting out more black fluids. Jinsol whispered words of comfort, wiping the blood away with a towel. The multiple injuries on her weren’t healing either as some kept bleeding.

“Can you get what we need?” Haseul directed her attention to Yerim.

“I don’t know, but I will go check, if not, I’ll find another way.” Yerim ran her hand through her hair. “Codrin. He has to know somebody if the guy I know doesn’t have it.”

“I know your coven has no duty to us.” Haseul motioned to her clan, “but I wouldn’t ask for help if I wasn’t this desperate.”

“Unnie, Chaewon’s family is our family and you know that,” Hyunjin finally spoke up.

“You’re not immortal. You could die. Do you understand that?” Haseul has always thought she was a competent leader, but with the state her clan was in and now putting humans, her extended family, in danger made her feel like a failure. 

“We could die either way if Jiu rises in power,” Yerim noted. “We’re not going to stand around knowing we could help stop Dreamcatcher from taking away our home and family.”

Haseul felt grateful that after how long she’s been alive, she has made so many true friends. “Jungeun and Jiwoo, go with Yerim.” The two nodded, pulling apart from each other. “Vivi’s going to need a witch here.” 

Hyunjin raised her hand half way into the air. “I got it.”

Haseul looked over to the small blonde. “We’re going to go see Jihyo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> play love cherry motion's drop when the mirror lands lol


	21. NECROMANCER

“Seems unfair that you could find me any time you want, but I can’t do the same,” another leader with short hair commented as she was approached by two people.

“Hello Jihyo.” Haseul stood just outside the property of a small cabin in the woods with Chaewon next to her.

“It’s been awhile.” The woman sat on a log by a campfire. “Please take a seat, the both of you.”

They took the invitation and sat across from the werewolf.

“How’s Sana?” Jihyo looked at Chaewon, who gave out a soft smile.

“She’s good. I’m never bored even when I want to be. She just talk my ears off all day,” Chaewon joked as the wolf chuckled.

“Don’t think that we didn’t smell all of the blood although you witches cleaned up pretty well,” Jihyo said getting to the point of why the vampires are really here. She snapped a twig with both hands before throwing the smaller piece into the fire. “I may not be able to pick up Sana’s scent anymore, but I do know when she’s been somewhere by the claw marks she leaves behind.”

“There were hunters,” Haseul mentioned, not wanting to hide the truth, but figured the other leader already knew.

“There were,” Jihyo stated, acknowledging that she did indeed know. “They’re also back aren’t they?”

Haseul eyebrows knitted together. “They are.”

“So the rumors are true. I was hoping it was just a copycat clan, but wishful thinking doesn’t ever work does it?”

“They have Sooyoung.”

Jihyo‘s head lifted up from the fire to meet Haseul’s eyes. 

“I know you’ve had business elsewhere, but if you haven’t heard, Dreamcatcher tried taking out some local werewolves,” Haseul continued.

“I did hear.” Jihyo threw the other twig into the fire. “Nayoung speaks highly of you.”

Haseul scoffed. “Wolves these days have no respect.”

“Wolves these days don’t know a thing about what we’ve been through to be able to see from the other’s perspective,” the wolf tried to defend both sides.

“If you could kindly tell them to stand down. They’ve been interfering, giving my clan more trouble than they need.”

“Done.” 

“Just like that?” Haseul raised an eyebrow. “My clan has killed many of your hunters just of now.”

“We all know that corruption runs deep. These hunters didn’t just somehow start to wander off to the other side. My team has been investigating it on the down low. We don’t know who to trust so it’s just nine werewolves against the whole council right now.” Jihyo winced before correcting herself, “eight werewolves.”

Haseul gave her a look of sympathy although the other leader had her attention elsewhere.

Chaewon made her way over and sat by Jihyo on the log, her halberd appearing by her side. The wolf finally looked up to see a blonde smiling woman kneeling in front of her. 

“Sana,” she whispered out, reaching her hand out to the woman instinctively, only to have it pass right through her.

It took a few moments for the figure to materialize. It was almost as if she was still alive, but anyone could tell she wasn’t by some off features that were replaced by magic. 

Jihyo reached out again, this time her fingers grazed over Sana’s cheek as the woman placed her own hand over the wolf’s. She was cold as ice at first, but Chaewon made it so warmth could be felt through their touch. They all knew it was an illusion of magic making the warmth seem real, replacing something that wasn’t actually there. Jihyo didn’t care whether it was fake or not, to her, it was as real as it would ever get again.

“She says she misses you,” Chaewon translated the distorted sounds coming from Sana. “She says she’s having fun annoying Chaewon.” The hybrid rolled her eyes at the usual teasing. “She wants you to know that she’s doing fine despite the circumstances and that she wants you to eat more. You’re losing your baby fat,” Chaewon paused and turned to Sana frowning, “do I really have to say that?”

Sana gave the girl a look and nodded with a playful smile.

“She says she misses your cute cheeks and beautiful voice,” Chaewon mumbled as Jihyo blushed red. Even in the afterlife, Sana could still make her flustered.

Jihyo cleared her throat, trying to hide the obvious red.

“Um, we can stand somewhere else while you two talk in private,” Chaewon suggested standing up as Haseul did the same. “You won’t be able to understand what she’s saying like usual, or I’m sure you could considering how close you two were, and you can talk to her freely.”

Jihyo nodded, thanking the two. It’s been awhile since they last talked, both parties being busy with their own thing as Sana went wherever Chaewon went.

“Have I told you how glad I am that Yeojin has you?” Haseul said as they walked through the woods, keeping a range where Sana was still at her most materialized form. 

“Many times.” Chaewon jumped onto a fallen tree and walked along, balancing on it. “And as annoying as she could get, I can’t imagine my life without her.” The small blonde crouched down and gave out a sad look. “I’m sorry you can’t have her by your side, but she’s always by mine, and I could tell you that she’s the best sister anyone could ask for.”

Haseul looked down at her feet before sitting down, resting her back against the tree. “My time with her was cut short, but I will not allow the same thing to happen with Sooyoung.”

Chaewon hopped off the tree to sit by Haseul, tucking her knees into her chest. “I’m scared, Unnie.”

Haseul reached out to pull Chaewon into her arms. “I know. I am too, but we can’t lose hope. Knowing Jiu, she’ll keep Sooyoung there. She likes playing games, dragging things out like the sadistic bitch she is,” Haseul said, losing the elegance from her tone.

“There’s only so much she could handle. Mama seems tough, but we all know she’s been through too much.” Chaewon buried her head into the crook of Haseul’s neck as the older vampire held her tighter.

“I know, darling, I know.” Haseul stroked the smaller blonde’s hair and kissed the top of her head.

They pulled apart, having heard footsteps and stood up to see Jihyo coming towards them.

“My pack will be on the lookout. Hunters like to talk and brag, thinking they’re superior to other humans because they hunt vampires more for game than the job.” Sana was no longer in sight as Jihyo stood before them. “I’ll try my best to keep other wolves out of your way, but it might be hard since I don’t really have a say in the council. I can however, keep the locals at bay to buy you some time, but the attack on open ground will sure have everyone’s attention.” 

“Thank you. That’s all we ask,” Haseul said.

“No, thank you for coming all the way out here to inform me of the bad, but also for letting me talk to Sana again.” The campfire was low now, having no one tending to it. “I assume you’ll be on your way now.”

“Yes. I can smell your pack coming. Sorry we can’t stay to let you guys have a reunion.”

“If this ends well, I’ll come here again before I have to go back to my coven.” Chaewon knew as a keeper of the dead, she didn’t owe anyone anything, but sometimes the living needed to see their loved ones again in order to move forward.

“Thank you, really.” Jihyo reached out and pulled Chaewon into a hug. The girl let the still grieving wolf do as she pleased, giving her a comforting squeeze as well.

“Of course, you and Sana both have been the friends I never knew I’d have. Who’d figure I’d be friends with dogs,” Chaewon joked as Haseul glared at her.

“Some of you bloodsuckers aren’t too bad yourselves,” Jihyo joked back, already having been used to Sana’s teasing that Chaewon wasn’t much different.

They headed away from the cabin in the woods when Haseul pointed out, “you’re best friend is literally Hyejoo.”

“Yeah, well, she was pretty annoying at first too,” Chaewon joked again before turning serious at the thought of other members. “Heejin and Hyejoo haven’t called. I think I should go check up on them but Mama and Vivi unnie needs me too. Mom is probably so worried right now.”

Haseul frowned at the young vampire having to deal with so many problems at once. “Go to them. I’m just going to go back to Yerim’s to see what I can do. I’ll have someone call you when we get more information or come up with a plan.”

“I want to check up what’s going on at Yerim’s first and then I’ll go.” Having two families so far apart was stressful, especially when both required attention. Chaewon was conflicted on where she needed to be, wanting to be in two places at once.


	22. HEAVEN'S TOO FAR

A few years ago

“I wish I could keep you as a pretty trophy, but too bad you’re just a filthy dog.” Jiu leaned in close to the bloody woman she held up by the hair, never breaking eye contact as she spoke.

“Sana!” A voice cried out in desperation, but it was no use being held up by two others on her knees with a sword sticking out of her stomach. “Please, please don’t do this!”

Jiu turned around smirking. “To have the great werewolf pack leader, Park Jihyo, begging on her knees is like music to my ears.” The sadistic woman lowered her arm so that Sana was now on her knees as well, facing Jihyo. “You’re the talk of the town. The number of vampires you’ve put down is quite impressive.” Jiu yanked back the hair she still had a grip on, forcing the blonde to open her clenched eyes. “Do you know how many dogs I’ve killed?”

“Please,” Jihyo still begged as she bled out. The grips on her arms never loosening as the two vampires by her side looked ahead, not even paying attention to her.

“Do you know how many have been in your very same position?” Jiu walked behind Sana and kneeled down to her level. “You’re lucky I’m even letting you beg. I usually kill much faster, but you and your pack has been fun, Jihyo, I’ll give you that.” She licked the side of Sana’s neck as the girl shuttered from fear and disgust. “Is Momo doing good? I didn’t know someone could still live with the amount of blood that was under her. I guess I underestimated the human body. You are human after all, aren’t you? It’s quite funny how vulnerable you all are in a different form.”

“Someone’s coming,” The vampire that had stabbed Jihyo with the sword informed.

Jiu already knew. She was waiting for it. “Well, it really has been a pleasure, but I guess all good things must come to an end.” Before Jihyo could get a word in, Jiu had already pulled back her head and quickly sank her teeth into Sana’s neck as the girl cried out.

“Sana!” Was all Jihyo could scream as she watched the scene before her.

It didn’t take long before Sana’s eyes started to close and her body involuntarily leaned back against Jiu’s chest. 

The vampire looked up once she was done feeding, blood dripping down her chin with the sick smile she always smiled from ear to ear as she bit into her own wrist and watched Jihyo’s face light up in pure terror.

“You can’t do this. Please, don’t do this to her.” Jihyo’s voice was a stuttering mess between her sobs.

Jiu didn’t listen. She lowered the barely conscious wolf into her arms as she held the bleeding wrist slightly above the blonde’s mouth and watched as it slowly dripped down. “I really do wish I could keep her.” Jiu stood up when she was done and looked to her clan, who were mesmerized by the bloody scene. “Siyeon. Bora.”

Siyeon, the woman with the sword, held the handle and quickly pulled the weapon out of Jihyo’s back. Without arms holding her now, the short haired girl fell forward, crashing onto the ground.

Jihyo could barely feel her own body move as she scrambled to Sana’s side. She somehow managed to sit up, pulling the blonde into her lap, gently sweeping hair out of the dying girl’s face. “Sana,” she choked out.

“Jihyo.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as her eyes fluttered open. “I can’t become one of them.”

“I know.” Jihyo would be lying if for that split second, she didn’t think of letting Sana live on, but it would have been cruel when they both knew the blonde had to die.

“Jihyo,” Another voice called out quietly from behind her.

She didn’t need to look up to know who it was. “You’re late.” She hasn’t even realized the others were gone, replaced with a whole different clan.

“I’m sorry.”

Jihyo looked up in anger, her eyes meeting another vampire, but this one didn’t have the same cold look as the previous ones. “You led them here, Haseul. They’re here because of your clan! Because you protect those who have killed hundreds of people!” She shouted out looking between Sooyoung and Jinsol.

Haseul didn’t flinch as she took whatever was yelled at her. She motioned for her clan to stand farther away. “You need to go to a hospital, Jihyo.” She chose to ignore the wolf’s words, knowing it would be no good for her to defend her clan of the true claims.

“I don’t need anything. I just need her.” Her voice cracked as she continued on, “she’s going to turn.”

“You are leader of a pack. A pack that very much needs you.” Haseul looked at her members and then back to Jihyo when the girl didn’t answer her. “I know I’m in no position to offer you my assistance, but maybe there’s a way we could help.” She motioned for the small blonde. “Chaewon.”

The said girl stepped forward and kneeled down. “We both know that a soul of a vampire cannot move on, but if with your’s and Sana’s permission, I could make it so that she’ll still have a purpose in the afterlife, rather than being stuck in limbo.”

“Jihyo, please,” Sana’s voice came out quieter than before, but with enhanced hearing, they all could make out her words.

Jihyo kept eye contact with Sana as she spoke, knowing what the girl was pleading for. “So what now? She’s just going to be your puppet for when you need her to come into battle?”

“No, though she does have to be by my side, she can choose if she wants to help me fight or if she wants to just rest.” Chaewon looked down at the wolf that only had about a minute or two left to live as she saw the girl’s aura start to fade. “I don’t know how to explain it, but the souls that stays with me have a place they can make their own. It can be whatever they want it to be and with whichever souls they choose to be around so they won’t get lonely.”

“Sana hates feeling lonely.” Jihyo sniffed back tears as the girl in her arms smiled softly back at her. They both knew it was their only option. Vampires were demons after all and demons had no place in a peaceful afterlife.

“I love you, Jihyo,” Sana struggled to say. She was too weak to reach her hand up to the leader’s cheek, so Jihyo held it up for her as she placed it gently on her own face.

“I love you too,” She choked out, knowing it’d be the last time they’d be able to say that to each other.

Jihyo watched as Sana’s eyes got too heavy to stay open and she watched as her chest stopped rising. She couldn’t stop the sobs that wracked her body as she held the dead girl close. They knew it wouldn’t be long until the blonde turned into one of the very things that had killed her.

Chaewon already had her halberd in her hands. It was a weapon, but also a tool she often used to help guide souls to the afterlife. “I’m sorry.” She placed a hand on Jihyo’s shoulder to indicate that they didn’t have much time to grieve in peace before Sana’s soul would be lost forever if she turned into a vampire.

Jihyo nodded although she wasn’t ready to let go. She still had Sana in her arms as Chaewon’s hand was placed just above the girl’s heart. They watched as she closed her eyes, chanting a few quiet words before light emitted from Sana’s body and disappearing just as quickly. “It’s done,” she said opening her eyes again, the light only being there for a few brief seconds.

“Just like that?” Jihyo didn’t know what she was expecting, but she wasn’t expecting it to be that fast. There was no grand ritual where she got to see Sana’s soul actually leave her body or anything close to how she’d imagine it to be like. It was over before she even knew it. A bit too fast for her brain to take it all in.

“She was willing, so it was fast,” Chaewon explained. “Sometimes it takes longer if I’m trying to guide lost souls, but Sana wasn’t lost. She knew where she wanted to be and you can rest assure that she isn’t in pain with me.” It was said that a vampire’s soul was either left to rot or tortured for eternity in the afterlife, but with Sana by Chaewon’s side, she’d be able to pass through as a human once the princess of the dead ceased to exist.


	23. MIRROR MIRROR

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7th day in the row updating. yeah idk.

“Maybe you guys shouldn’t have come with me.” Yerim walked fast as the two newer clan members followed closely by her side.

“Do you like to work alone?” Jiwoo asked not understanding why the other girl didn’t want back up.

“No, it’s not that. The guy we’re going to go see, he’s just— he’s not very fond of vampires,” Yerim said reaching into her pouch to pull something out. “Here, give this to him. He likes rare things.”

They each took a book Yerim had in her hands. 

“You’re like Doraemon,” Jiwoo commented.

“What?”

“Your magic pouch that all your coven members have ‘cause there’s no way these books could have fit in that tiny ass pouch.”

“Ah yes, my magic pouch. I’d make you one, but only witches could use it.”

“You just want it to hold all of your snacks,” Jungeun butted in. “You’re a vampire, why do you even like human snacks?”

“I just like food okay,” Jiwoo grumbled as she felt herself getting hungry at the mention of food and having lost so much blood in the battle just before.

They reached an old looking bookstore in the middle of nowhere that didn’t seem to have any customers inside even though the open sign was still on.

“Maybe you guys should wait out here.” The purple haired girl stopped in front of the door and gave the two vampires a look.

“Haseul said not to let you out of our sight.” Jungeun took a step forward.

“I’m not powerless,” Yerim countered back at how she got babied all the time.

“No one said that, but you are human, so if we need to take a bullet for you then we will,” Jiwoo spoke up this time.

“I’m human, yes, I’ve been told many times, and if he was going to harm me, I’m pretty sure he’d boil me from the inside out or something,” she rambled before taking a breath to open the door. “Ok, let’s go then since there’s no use in wasting time.”

The bookstore seemed a lot bigger than it did from the outside. There was nobody inside but a few cats that laid lazily on top and around the shelves.

“Heechul ojusshi, I know you’re here,” Yerim called out in the middle of the room. When she waited for a few seconds and didn’t get an answer, she frowned. “The amount of money I can get you is worth seeing.”

“You bring vampires to my lair?” Came a voice from nowhere.

“I can hardly call this a lair if it’s out in the open.”

Suddenly, like a camoleon coming out of hiding, there were legs by one of the shelves and then the body and head appeared revealing a man with hair down to his chin. 

“First you bring vampires here and then you call me ojusshi. I’m either an oppa or ajusshi, make up your mind and it better not be the latter,” he snarled and then raised his hands up.

Jungeun and Jiwoo felt themselves freeze, already knowing what was going on.

“Do not test me when it comes to these monsters, child. You’ve been settling with the wrong crowd lately.” Heechul slowly clenched his hands and lowered them slowly making the vampires fall to their knees.

Yerim casts her own spell to break his. “Do not speak to me like I am some immature witch that doesn’t know anything.”

The two vampires got back up after being released from the short hold, fangs out, but kept their ground.

“I’m not here to fight. You know I’d never put you in danger unless absolutely necessary,” Yerim said putting both her hands down. “The only clan that can stop Dreamcatcher is injured and I need unicorn hair.”

Heechul laughed, putting his hands down. “Unicorn hair. You can barely pay for your rent. How do you expect to pay for this?”

“Money isn’t an issue.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure it’s not when everyone knows you’re running with Haseul’s crew, but I expect something more than just money.”

Yerim sighed already predicting that was what he was going to say.

Jungeun and Jiwoo each held out a book to Heechul. He eyed them cautiously before looking at the book. “The twins.”

“Yes, finding one or the other is easier, but are they both ever in this good of a condition?” Yerim pointed out as he reached out to take the books, placing one down on a desk before carefully flipping through the other one.

He let out a small laugh. “Would it be funny if I told you’re not going to get the unicorn hair?” His face turned into a scowl, quickly lifting up his hands to throw out magic at the three.

Yerim didn’t flinch as she watched the magic hit an invisible shield up in front of her. “You think I don’t know what you are?” She said with a straight face.

The two vampires bared their fangs but didn’t understand the situation.

Heechul smiled again. “I guess I shouldn’t underestimate a witch from the Choi family, though I do recall that most of them are dead. Maybe I should wipe out the rest.”

Yerim scoffed. “You can’t even do your research to get Heechul’s character down correctly. He’s the one that told me to call him ojusshi, you dimwit. How are you gonna kill me?”

The man made a few hand signs before throwing out another spell, this time, a little leaked through the shield, making Yerim throw a few hand signs of her own to reinforce it. She frowned at how strong the witch was when most couldn’t break through her barriers. When Yerim was done fixing her shield, she looked up to see “Heechul” had turned into a woman, revealing the true form of the shapeshifter.

“What are you doing here, Juyeon?” Yerim asked confused, anger in her eyes.

“What, you don’t call me unnie anymore?” The tall brunette had on a smirk. 

“Unnie is reserved for people I respect.”

“That’s too bad. I thought we had fun learning some of the dark arts together.” The witch raised one arm, looking at her own hand as she moved her fingers in a wave like motion to see black ink like fluid circling around it. “How’s Hyejoo doing?”

Yerim tried not to show any emotions, but it was hard not to at the mention of one of her coven member’s name. “She’s doing fine, no thanks to you.”

“Oh? Is that so? I heard she hasn’t been in the city or did I hear wrong?” Juyeon finally looked back up before clenching her fist together, causing the black fluid to move around rapidly.

Yerim immediately threw an attack of purple lightning at the other witch, but it was deflected into one of the book shelves. She threw another and another, the third hit finally nicking at the hand covered in black making the fluid go back to its steady pace.

The two vampires had no idea who this newcomer was, but if Yerim was attacking, they followed suit only to be stopped in their tracks. As fast as they froze, they unfroze with a wave of the purple haired witch’s hand.

“I know I can’t kill her, but damn does it hurt.” Juyeon tilted her head to the side with that smug look.

“What is she talking about?” Jungeun questioned.

“Blood magic. She has a hold on Vivi unnie.” Yerim gritted her teeth as she kept her eyes on the other witch as she spoke. 

“Your nose is bleeding.” Jiwoo pointed out, looking at her in concern.

Yerim reached up to wipe at her nose and true enough, her hand came back with blood as she looked up to see Juyeon smirking once more.

They couldn’t even react when a small mirror fell out of Yerim’s sleeve, landing right by her feet as she disappeared into it. Juyeon looked around already knowing what was coming, but was thrown of guard when something hit her back anyways, causing the black from her hand to fully disappear.

Yerim stood behind her. “Stupid to not check for every single little mirror in the room.” She threw out another attack as the witch raised her hand to block it, but was a little too slow as it knocked her back almost making her fall. “You’re so sloppy to not know that Heechul ojusshi loves looking at himself.” 

Juyeon growled and advanced, but was stopped when the vampires ran for her as well. She froze them again, but like before, it was countered by Yerim. This went on as both sides kept on throwing out attacks while freezing and unfreezing the two.

“Eventually, they’ll reach you!” Yerim yelled out.

Juyeon let out another huff of frustration, finally giving up on the freeze and attack as she used both hands to make hand signs before hurling the vampires across the room with an energy blast. She quickly raised her arms up to defend an attack that was coming as she was making the hand motions, but was a bit too late when it broke through the thin defense, throwing the witch at a desk, breaking it.

Yerim walked towards the witch on the ground and was about to attack again when she herself froze in place. She fell to one knee as Juyeon got up, both hands coming up to face Yerim.

“This feels awfully familiar doesn’t it?” The witch didn’t have a smirk on this time. Her face was just full of hate. “I’ve always been the better blood bender.”

She didn’t have time to do anything else as the vampires ran for her again. The tall brunette tried to break the hold on Yerim to attack back, but being alone, she couldn’t hold all of them as Jungeun sank her teeth into the witch’s arm. Juyeon let out a yell, waving her hand to break a leg of a chair to use as a makeshift stake and sent it towards Jungeun. Jiwoo already saw it coming as she picked up a thick book to throw and intercepted the stake, knocking it out midair.

Jungeun let go of the arm as she let out her own yell, clenching her head, but that also stopped shortly when Yerim defended it. 

“Stupid to only have you here when you’re clearly outnumbered.” Yerim stood there ready to be on the offense again.

“Stupid to think I’m here alone,” Juyeon said, dusting herself off.

Before anyone could do anything, Jungeun’s body was replaced in a blink of an eye by a small silvered haired girl. Jiwoo looked around to find Jungeun on the other side of the room, away from everyone else as she ran to her.

“Luda,” Yerim whispered out as her tried to stop her hands from shaking at the appearance of another witch.


	24. COVEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reached 200 kudos for lusus naturae on ao3, wooo. so thanks to those who reads it. also thanks for the comments because since i don’t plan things, your guys words makes me think in ways i haven’t for the story yet, so it really helps ✌️

“Missed me?” The new witch smirked. “Jiyeon unnie says she wishes she could be here for a little reunion, but she’s a bit busy at the moment.”

Yerim didn’t say anything as she tried reaching into her pouch, only to find herself in the very spot Luda was just in while the other witch swapped places with her. Now, she was side by side with Juyeon as the other witch grabbed for her, but Yerim already had another small mirror on the floor she dropped, teleporting through to a different part of the room where another mirror was. She pulled out what she was looking for and blew on the whistle. No sound came from it as she placed it back in her pouch. Soon, a black cat appeared by her side before turning into a girl.

Hyunjin.

“Have you forgotten that I made more friends along the way?” Yerim snarled that she had to see people she never wanted to see again show up. “I knew you guys were low, but to side with Dreamcatcher?” She scoffed. “Once upon a time, you hated vampires.”

“Well times has changed and I want to be on the surviving side at the end. Good never wins Yerim, you should know that.” The silver haired girl spoke. “Tell Hyejoo I said hi, but for now, I guess we’ll just leave since this party seems to be getting a bit too crowded.”

Yerim put an arm in front of Hyunjin to stop her from attacking as they watched the two witches walk across the room and out through the back door. If they wanted to end the fight here, she’d let them knowing that her family needed her right now.

She snapped out of the daze when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Vivi unnie isn’t doing too well,” Hyunjin tone was low. “I’ll see you there.” The witch turned back into a cat before disappearing off again.

“Let’s go.” Yerim’s shoulders were still tense as they made their way out of the bookstore, stepping over debris from the fight.

“What about the unicorn hair?” Jiwoo asked.

Yerim shook her head. “There’s no use looking for it. Heechul ojusshi hides his whole stock with magic. Only he could locate it and he’s not here.” She didn’t have time to look for him, but she hoped he wasn’t dead. Heechul was one of the only trustworthy suppliers in the black market she knew of and if he was gone, so was her connection to rare materials.

“Then what do we do?” 

“Those witches aren’t the only ones who knows dark magic.” 

“That witch mentioned that you learned together,” Jungeun said joining in.

“It was desperate times. I made friends with the wrong people to try to help my own friends,” Yerim explained as they walked as fast as they could back to her shop.

“The girl that everyone keeps mentioning? Hyejoo?” The brunette asked for clarification. Everyone kept talking about things without telling them anything, but it was given with how new they were to a clan and coven that seemed to have so much history together.

“Yes.” She stopped in her tracks for a second at the name, but continued walking on. “She’s a childhood friend of mine. Some stupid family curse had a hold on her and I wasn’t going to let her crumble to some twisted fate she had no control over.” Yerim shook her head. “The curse of immortality. The curse of having demons feed off of your soul. Yeah, there seems to be a lot of curses going around and I should be thankful I’m not cursed although I sure as hell feel like it.” Anyone could tell the girl was stressed as she went on, “I’m only 25, yet I feel like I’ve experienced way too many things to just be human.”

“You’re not just human. You’re also a witch,” Jiwoo pointed out.

“Maybe that is my curse.” Yerim sighed. She wasn’t one to let all of her feelings out, but sometimes talking to people she didn’t know so well was easier than talking to those she was close to. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear all of this from me.”

“We were a few years younger than you when our human lives ended, but for sure did not have all of these responsibilities at that age, so please don’t be sorry,” the redhead reassured as Jungeun nodded along.

Yerim let out a shaky breath and ran her hand through her hair as they reached her shop. Her shop, another responsibility that was passed onto her without actually wanting it. Sometimes it seemed like her future was already decided for her the moment she was born. The Choi family was a big name in the witch community, though it has been dying down with Yerim being the sole survivor left. Her friends were her only family now and having them in danger made her want to switch places with them when she knows she can’t, so she’ll do everything in her power to try to keep them safe.

Yerim let down the shield as they entered the shop. “Haseul unnie and Chaewon aren’t back yet?”

“They called earlier. They should be here soon,” Hyunjin spoke, her eyes not leaving Vivi as she tried anything she could to lessen the pain. “Unicorn hair was a no go?”

Yerim shook her head while wasting no time to gather supplies. “Could you guys change the water bucket and towels?” She asked the two vampires that entered with her.

They both nodded, taking the supplies that were next to Jinsol as they made their way to the sink in the restroom.

The blonde looked like she aged although she couldn’t with the amount of worry that was etched on her face.

“What do you need that for?” Hyunjin asked knowingly at the things Yerim was carrying.

“You know what this is for.” Yerim didn’t make eye contact as she started to place candles around the floor to create a circle. “Unnie, could you please carry Vivi unnie here?”

Jinsol did what she was told, lifting up the barely conscious vampire up in her arms and bringing her over. “What are you going to do?”

“She’s being crazy, that’s what. This should be a last resort thing.” Hyunjin grabbed at Yerim’s arm to stop her from placing any more candles down.

The purple haired girl looked up. “This is the last resort.”

The witch with the scar let go of her arm and shook her head.

“What’s going on?” Jinsol asked, looking between the two.

“I can make it stop.”

“She’s going to absorb the blood magic that was placed on Vivi unnie into herself and then try to make it stop,” Hyunjin countered, her voice raising in volume.

“What?” Jinsol was the one to grab Yerim’s arm now as she was grinding herbs with her pestle and mortar.

“I can do this. Just trust me.” In reality, she wasn’t sure, but if she couldn’t even do this, then what was she good for?

“Vivi unnie can’t die, but you can.” Hyunjin kneeled down in front of the other witch. “There has to be another way.”

“Chaewon can’t. She knows blood magic, but she doesn’t have human blood to perform it.” Yerim continued on with what she was doing. “It was a trap. Jiyeon’s coven knew I’d be going to Heechul’s. There’s probably not unicorn hair anywhere near the city. We can’t go finding Sooyoung unnie with Vivi unnie like this.”

Hyunjin sighed in defeat. “Then let me absorb some of it.”

“You can’t. Chaewon made sure you didn’t dabble too far in the dark arts and you’re not going to start now.”

“Chaewon isn’t my keeper.”

Yerim reached out to hold onto both of Hyunjin’s hands. “She’s not, but I’ve been doing this since I was 15, so just trust me. I can do this.” She then looked to the front door. “They’re here.” She let down the shield as Haseul and Chaewon entered. 

“What is this?” Chaewon asked right away, seeing what was on the floor.

“Dreamcatcher has recruited Jiyeon’s coven and they made sure we’re not getting the unicorn hair, so I’m performing some blood magic as a last resort and you’re not going to stop me,” Yerim explained in one breath.

“Okay.” Chaewon stepped into the circle and started to move items to their spot.

“You’re not going to argue with me?” Yerim raised her eyebrows, surprised how easy that was.

“It’s dangerous and you’re being stupid, but I also know that you could pull this off.”

Hyunjin scoffed. “We both know she could, but it’s still dangerous.”

“Haseul unnie?” Yerim looked up at the clan leader.

She bent down to pull Jinsol into a one armed hug. “I could advise you not to, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop you.”

“No, it’s not.” Yerim shook her head knowing how stubborn she could be. She had to be. If she wasn’t, nothing in her life would have worked out the way it did. “I need you two to move out of the circle.” She motioned to the vampires, who nodded and stood by where Jungeun and Jiwoo were. “Hyunjin, can you light the candles?”

The said girl sighed and shook her head again, but did what was told.

Chaewon already knew what to do as she started drawing some designs inside the circle with white chalk while Yerim placed other objects around. Once she was done, she took a knife and placed the blade end into her left palm before quickly cutting herself, letting it drip into the mortar. Hyunjin started mixing it as the three moved in sync, and then placed the herb mixture on different parts of Vivi’s body. Yerim then used her right thumb to dab some of the blood in her palm to a draw symbol on the vampire’s forehead. She turned to Chaewon who helped her draw the same symbol on her own forehead as well before taking a cloth to close the wound.

Yerim held her hands out for the two witches on the other side of Vivi’s body to take. She felt each girl running their thumb over the back of her hand as a silent communication to be careful as she made eye contact with them and nodded her head. 

They began chanting. At first, nothing happened, but as the chant went on, the candles started to flicker like there was wind in the room. The vampires watched in silence until a scream erupted from both Vivi and Yerim.


	25. BLOOD MAGIC

Vivi’s body arched up as she continued to scream. Yerim felt like she was being torn apart. The black like veins on Vivi started to disappear, spouting out of her mouth and into the Yerim’s. She threw her head back involuntarily when everything started to go numb, but her members grabbed onto her hands tighter, knowing they couldn’t break the circle. 

They’ve done many dangerous things before as a coven, but it never gets easier. The worry and fear of the unknown is always the same. 

Vivi’s body went slack when the transfer was done. Yerim’s head was now down, with her chin to her chest, hair covering her face. She was breathing hard as Chaewon and Hyunjin started to chant a different passage. Yerim tried yanking her hands away when the pain came back tenfold, but again, it only made the other two grip tighter. She couldn’t even scream as she started to cough up black liquid and tried to breathe as she choked on it.

Haseul got close to the circle, wanting to stop whatever was happening, but a shield around them made it so she couldn’t get within five feet of them. She and the others watched helplessly as Yerim struggled to hold on.

After some time, Chaewon and Hyunjin stopped the chanting and broke their hold on the hurting witch, crawling to the girl right when she was about to fall over.

“Yerim, Yerim, hey, you got this.” Chaewon turned the girl to the side and held her in her arms, brushing hair out of her face.

Hyunjin took the towel out of the water bucket and wiped away as much of the black as she could.

“What’s going on?” Haseul asked from a distance.

“We did what we could, but it’s done now. The rest is up to Yerim.” Chaewon looked up with worry on her face.

“How could she do anything in that state?” Jinsol spoke just as concerned.

“She can. We just have to trust her.”

Yerim let out another scream as the black started to clear from her throat. “Chae—,” she struggled to say.

Chaewon stroked Yerim’s hair that was getting damp from sweat. “I’m here. We’re all here. You got this okay? We’ve messed with the dark arts so many times. This is nothing. I’ll guide you through this blood magic like I always do.”

Yerim gritted her teeth and grunted in response with her eyes shut tight. 

Hyunjin watched on as she gritted her teeth as well, but for a different reason. Blood magic is a type of dark arts that she never got into. It would be a lie to say she hasn’t dabbled in the dark arts, most witches did, but don’t get far because of how intense it could get. Hyunjin had wanted to go further and would have if it wasn’t for Chaewon stopping her. The hybrid learned at a young age, younger than Yerim and knew the risks that came with it, so she made sure the other coven members didn’t touch it. She wanted to argue so many times, though she always refrained from it, knowing it was for her own good, but times like this, she hated feeling helpless.

“Breathe through your nose and out your mouth,” Chaewon instructed to Yerim. “I know it hurts, but you gotta concentrate. Imagine your own blood circulating throughout your body, not this foreign blood magic done by someone else. It doesn’t belong in you and your magic is stronger than theirs. Jiyeon and them can talk all the crap they want, but they don’t know shit. You’ve always been a better witch than any of those assholes will ever be and this is coming from me, an old ass vampire and an even older witch, so you know I’m not just saying this to say it.” 

Yerim wanted to laugh if she wasn’t in so much pain. Chaewon always had a way with words even when trying to comfort people, but she always knew what she was doing, so she did what she was told. Yerim closed her eyes, concentrating on her own blood pushing out the bad. Flashes of purple went through her head as the minutes passed and she swore she was just imagining things in her current state, but then she heard a faint voice calling out her name. A voice that didn’t belong to anyone in the room. She squeezed her eyes tighter, knowing it wasn’t possible, but then she heard it again, this time a little louder.

Yerim snapped her eyes open as she sat up, reaching out to someone that wasn’t there. “Choerry,” her voice came out in a quiet whisper.

“What?” She heard Chaewon and Hyunjin ask besides her and the sound of footsteps of the vampires as the protection shield went down.

Yerim groaned and laid back in Chaewon’s arms from feeling weak. She felt like her body was her own again, no trace of the other witch’s magic in her, but it still left her drained of energy. “Nothing,” she replied with her eyes closed again.

“Look at me Yerim,” Chaewon commanded.

She did what she was told. The girl above her looked hazy as she blinked rapidly to clear up her vision. She tried to steady her breathing from gasping for air as all the blood magic left her body.

“Your eye.” Chaewon reached down and placed a hand on Yerim’s cheek, using her thumb to run under the witch’s right eye. “Choerry.”

Yerim looked up confused, before trying to sit back up, only to lean herself onto Chaewon. “It’s impossible.”

Hyunjin pulled out a mirror from her pouch and passed it over to Yerim, who took it after some hesitation. She placed it up to her face slowly and sure enough, there was a purple ring around her right iris that she hasn't seen in years. “How?”

“Maybe she never left and you somehow triggered the connection you had with her,” Chaewon tried to think of an explanation. “She was always there when you needed help and maybe being in such a vulnerable state, without thinking, you found her again.”

Yerim was still looking at the mirror until the purple started to fade before disappearing completely. “I should try to talk to her.”

“Not right now. You need to rest first.” Chaewon stood and picked Yerim up in her arms to place her on a couch. “Vivi unnie should be fine. She’ll probably wake when her body is healed enough to do so.”

The vampires nodded their heads, thanking the coven. Jinsol picked up Vivi as well to place her on the other couch.

“What if I can’t go to her again?” Yerim asked once a pillow was placed under her head.

“You’ve survived with and without her. She can wait, but right now, you’re in no condition to try to travel dimensions.” Chaewon sighed, as she took a seat at the edge of the couch. “Rest.” The blonde bent down to kiss Yerim on the forehead before heading to the other’s in the shop.

“What was that?” Haseul asked as they cleaned up the circle with candles and the counter.

“She doesn’t talk about it often, but she used to be able to travel to different dimensions. Alternate realities where there are different versions of ourselves.” Chaewon sat down on one of the stools at the counter, running her hand through her hair as Hyunjin handed her a glass of water. She thanked her before holding onto the girl’s hand, pulling Hyunjin down to the stool next to her. It was common for the coven to want to feel close to one another after dangerous situations.

“I need to go check up on Heejin and Hyejoo. They must be worried even after we told them about the whole Yerim and blood magic thing,” Hyunjin spoke quietly, allowing herself to be pulled closer by the blonde.

“Just stay for another minute?” Chaewon looked over to Hyunjin who nodded her head at the request. She looked back at the vampires to speak again, “In one of those dimensions, she found another version of herself named Choerry, hence the name of the shop, but something happened and she wasn’t able to travel to those places anymore. It’s been years since we’ve seen that purple eye. Didn’t think we’d ever see it again and we’re not even sure if it’ll happen again, but we’ll see. Yerim is as determined as she is stubborn, so it won’t be a surprise to find her doing whatever she can to travel those dimensions again once she’s rested.”

“We should keep an eye on her about that,” Hyunjin said knowing how Yerim often liked to overwork herself.

“I can’t say I know much about the whole witch business, but doesn’t that make Yerim sound freakishly powerful?” Jiwoo commented, not knowing traveling dimensions was even a thing.

“She is. Even up until now, I don’t think she’s reached her full potential yet. She grows stronger so fast that it scares me.” Chaewon sighed, looking back at the now sleeping girl on the couch. “We’re lucky she’s on our side, but then again, I don’t think that ball of sunshine has a bad bone in her.” She smiled softly before telling Hyunjin that she was okay now.

Hyunjin nodded, giving her hand another squeeze before turning into a cat and teleporting to the rest of their coven.

“You should go too,” Haseul said, knowing that Chaewon wanted to check up on her members.

The blonde waved her off, having already sent Hyunjin. She did want to see them too, but there were other matters at hand. “About Mama, I think I could take down the witches cloaking spell, but I didn’t fight them long enough to really catch their magic presence.” She got right down to business after taking care of Vivi’s.

“Hyunjin did,” Jinsol piped in after cleaning Vivi up of all the blood and black that was left after the whole ordeal.

“If you want the best tracker of our coven, Hyunjin’s the one, but I want to try first to see if I could get through.” Chaewon bit her lip. She wanted to be the one to be able to locate Dreamcatcher. Using a tracking spell made your mind vulnerable to the enemy if they knew of the intrusion. It allowed the minds to connect and there was no telling how powerful the other witches were.


	26. TRAITORS

Sooyoung’s chin was to her chest, looking through blurred eyes as blood dripped down, pooling around her feet that barely touched the ground. Her arms ached from being suspended up. Her wrists chained to the ceiling was the only thing keeping her from the desire to just lay down and rest. She wasn’t sure how much time has passed though it felt like eternity.

“I could just keep you here forever like this.” The voice sounded distant, but when a hand roughly grabbed a fistful of her hair to yank back, the voice became so loud, it made her head pound. “After everything you’ve done.”

Sooyoung gritted her teeth at Jiu’s threats. She should be angrier, but being so disoriented made her feel some kind of sadness from how things have turned out. Both her and Jinsol knew the consequences of leaving Dreamcatcher, but to have Jiu come after them like it was some drawn out game rather than killing them quickly made her feel sick. 

“I’m sorry,” Sooyoung managed to whisper out. 

She knew the woman before her wasn’t always like this. Jiu used to tell her stories about her human life and how meaningless it was. Who she is now had nothing to do with that life, she’d try to convince herself, but Sooyoung knew better. For someone to be hurt so badly and to feel like no one ever had her back chipped at the soul little by little until there was nothing left. She didn’t want to hurt Jiu then, but Jinsol was the only thing in her life that made sense at that time and she couldn’t stay knowing that Jinsol’s heart wasn’t into it anymore.

“You’re sorry?” Jiu pulled her hair back harder and gripped the handle of one of Jinsol’s knife that was impaled in her stomach. “I thought you were different, but you’re just like everybody else. Only say sorry if you mean it, not because you want me to spare your clan.” She shoved the knife in deeper, but didn’t find any satisfaction when Sooyoung let out a small cry.

“Jiu.” Sooyoung’s body involuntarily shook at all the blood loss and constant pain she had been enduring.

“Don’t you say my name like that.” Jiu gritted her teeth, finally letting go of the vampire’s hair, watching as her chin fell back down to her chest. “Gahyeon.”

The said witch was off to the side watching the whole ordeal before waving her hand as Sooyoung threw her head back, screaming at the magic that was thrown at her, making her feel like she was being torn from the inside out.

“Jiu!” She screamed out with a strained voice.

For a second, her heart hurt seeing Sooyoung like this. Jiu’s mind wandered to the past when Sooyoung had called for her like that when she was sure she was going to die. Somehow they managed to step into a trap full of hunters as arrows attached to chains came flying. Jiu was able to stop some, but the majority ran itself through her body, immobilizing her. She remembered in Sooyoung’s fit of rage came barreling through, killing most of the hunters with her bare hands. 

They were good together.

Jiu motioned for Gahyeon to stop as Sooyoung’s body went slack against the chains. She lowered the hold on the dark haired vampire until Sooyoung was now on her knees. Jiu got down to her level and tilted the woman’s chin up. “Why?”

Sooyoung knew what she was asking without having to say more. “You know why.”

Jiu growled out of frustration. “Why her over me? What does she have that I don’t? All of them.”

Sooyoung stared into Jiu’s eyes searching for something she wasn’t sure was there. “You think you know what love is, but you don’t. You never did and that’s why you don’t understand why I had to do the things I did.” She spat out the blood in her mouth onto the floor. “I loved you Jiu, but you couldn’t love me the way I needed you to. You would have killed Jinsol if it meant I was your one and only. That’s not love.”

Jiu’s hurt eyes turned to anger in seconds. “So you just left? That’s not love either!”

Sooyoung shook her head. “There’s nothing I could say to make you understand, because it’s not a concept that you ever knew. And I’m sorry you never got that and I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do, but what you’re doing now, if you go through with this, there’s really no turning back.”

“It’s already a little too late for me, isn’t it Sooyoung?” Jiu let out a small chuckle. “Like you said, I don’t understand a lot of things, so I guess I’m just going to do what I do best and kill every last one of you because you’re no use to me now.” She stood up, letting go of Sooyoung’s chin to watch her head fall again. “Oh, pretty sure your pink haired lover is just begging to die right now.”

Sooyoung took every last strength in her to look back up. “What did you do?”

Jiu smiled and looked over to Gahyeon before walking away. “Work your magic.”

“Jiu! What did you do to her?” She yelled out before her voice turned to screams that echoed throughout the place, but with barriers up, no one from the outside could hear a thing.

Jiu walked up the stairs, opening a door to another room. “Where were you guys?” She asked the two vampires that were seated next to each other.

“You told us to hold some of them off and use that witch’s needles and we did,” Bora spoke, not looking up from the book she was reading.

Jiu scoffed. “And you didn’t think to meet back up to help?”

“Doesn’t seem like you needed help.” Bora glanced at the door Sooyoung was behind.

The redhead walked over, kicking Bora’s feet off the table as Siyeon stood up to get between the two.

“Back off.” The blonde had her hand up to Jiu’s chest. “And you, shut up.” She pointed at Bora.

“What’s your problem?” Jiu looked at Bora from over Siyeon’s shoulder.

“Jinsol said something,” Bora said calmly.

“And what? It hit a nerve? You believe whatever that traitor has to say?”

“You wanted to kill her.”

“Of course I do, after what she did? Making Sooyoung leave with her.”

“Before that. She said you planned to kill her while she was still in the clan. And it was as much Sooyoung’s fault as it was Jinsol’s. They didn’t force each other to leave like that.”

Jiu crossed her arms as Siyeon stepped to the side, taking the body language as one that wasn’t going to attack. “You really believe her? She would say anything to get you to back off.”

Bora stood there, trying to read Jiu, having known the vampire for so long, she still wasn’t sure about the things that went on in her head.

“Don’t you see what she’s trying to do? She tore us apart once and she’s trying to do it again. We could be strategizing on how to take over this city, yet here we are, arguing over useless things.” Jiu started to walk off to another part of the place. “If you want a round in, Sooyoung’s still up.”

“Do you believe her?” Bora asked Siyeon once Jiu was out of earshot.

Siyeon shrugged. “Even if we don’t, what would we even do? We’re never getting Jinsol and Sooyoung back and that’s a fact that we have to live with. I just want this to be over so we could move on.” She reached out to hold onto Bora’s hand. “Come on.”

Bora sighed and allowed her to be led down the room where Sooyoung was being held.

“That’s enough,” Siyeon told the witch. “Out.”

“Jiu told me to stay here to keep watch in case she tries anything,” Gahyeon protested.

“You think we can’t handle her on our own?” Siyeon went to retrieve a bucket of water and towel from the corner of the room.

Gahyeon clicked her teeth in defeat, knowing there was no use in arguing back as she went up the stairs and out the room.

Siyeon sighed as she got to one knee in front of Sooyoung. Bora stood behind her with her arms crossed. They’ve been in this position before, with Sooyoung chained up and tortured, but it somehow felt different this time. 

Siyeon took the towel out of the bucket and tried to dab some of the blood off of the woman’s face, but as she got close, Sooyoung flinched back. They spent so much time in anger over the two of them leaving. They hunted them down, made them feel like they always had to watch their backs, but hearing Jinsol say that she loved them made them feel something towards the two they hasn’t felt in a long time. They weren’t even sure if the blonde meant it, but it pained them nonetheless.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Siyeon said softly as she tried to clean the vampire’s face again. This time, Sooyoung let her. “This doesn’t mean anything though. We’re still on opposite sides and when it comes down to it, you know we’re going to have to fight.”

Sooyoung didn’t respond.

Siyeon put her hand on the woman’s chin to tilt her head up to clean the blood off of her mouth. “I wish things were different, but I know we can’t have you both back by our sides.” 

Bora began pacing, not knowing how to contain all of the pent up emotions she was feeling.

“Did you even love us, Sooyoung?” Siyeon asked genuinely.

The bleeding vampire stared back at the blonde for a moment before yanking on the chains to lunge forward. “What did you do to Vivi?” She yelled out.

Siyeon jumped back in surprise, but then her face quickly turned to hurt and anger, throwing the bloody towel on the floor. “To think I felt sorry for you in this moment.”

Bora went over to pull the chains on her wrists back up so that Sooyoung’s feet were just a centimeter off the ground. They both left her hanging again as they went out of the room.

“I should hate her for answering me like that.” Siyeon ran a shaky hand through her hair.

“But you don’t,” Bora stated.

“No, I don’t. They used to fight tooth and nail for us, but now they’re fighting for someone else and I can’t bring myself to hate them knowing they loved us like that at one point. They left because of Jiu and,” her voice trailed. “God, I don’t know what I’m saying. I love Jiu too. You know I do.”

“I know.” Bora tried to find the right words to say. “And it sucks how things turned out, but this is what we want right? I don’t want to be hunted anymore by humans and dogs, and Haseul’s clan is in the way of that.”

“It’s really unfortunate.” Siyeon had her back to a wall, sliding down with knees up to her chest and head in her hands. She felt so conflicted and couldn’t help but think of how much time was wasted trying to seek revenge after Jinsol and Sooyoung. They left them with a pain they didn’t think was possible, but it tore at their hearts knowing the outcome in the end would be with only one clan standing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are dreamcatcher really "bad" guys?


	27. MINJI

Jiu/Minji’s past

The only sound she could hear was her own breathing as she laid on the cold floor of a cell she now called home. Minji wasn’t sure how long she’s been there, but she felt numb to the pain that she has felt all her life.

“Time to get up, slave,” a harsh voice called out. The sound of sword meeting metal could be heard as the man outside of the cell dragged the weapon across the bars.

She shuddered with fear as she struggled to sit up. The man unlocked the door and went in to yank Minji up to her feet. “You’re lucky you’re still alive being a witch like yourself.”

Minji wasn’t a witch. She didn’t possess any power she has seen, but that didn’t stop people from labeling her as one. She was just a good pickpocketer, learning from a young age to try to live on her own. Minji was just a kid when her parents left her at an outdoor market, telling her they’d be right back, but to never return. She wandered the streets for what seemed like forever in search of them. For a long time, she thought something bad happened, but as she grew older, she realized all of her parents fights were because of her. 

They never wanted her. 

She was a mistake.

“Clean the house and then await your punishment.” The man’s breath smelled of alcohol as he leaned his head in close.

She had tried to steal from the man, but was caught red handed. No one cared for an orphan as the man took it upon himself to enslave the woman for her wrongdoings.

Minji did what she was told. It seemed like every other day, she was cleaning the house of the aftermath of some drunken party her owner threw. Her heart ached every time she thought about how this was probably how she would live out her days, property of someone else without having any freewill of her own.

“When I come back, this place better be spotless.” He pinched at her arm hard before walking away.

Minji didn’t even flinch at the harassment. She was so used to people treating her like trash. Her own parents never paid attention to her, always leaving her on her own to take care of herself. Minji thought it was normal to learn how to cook as a kid and tend to her own wounds whenever she got hurt. She didn’t understand friendship or love as she watched people around her being so touchy and kind to one another. She craved for the attention, but didn’t know how to receive it. Minji didn’t know what it meant to be nice to a person when everyone she has ever known has been cruel to her.

This man was no different. Physical pain was something new to her, but it didn’t hurt as much as the emotional one. She doesn’t even scream as she’s whipped from missing a spot in the house and when her skin sizzled from being burned. 

A knock on the door jolted Minji out of her thoughts. She placed the broom leaning against a wall as she walked to answer whoever was there. She opened the door to be greeted by a woman with long black hair.

“Good afternoon, Miss.” The woman tipped her hat.

“If you’re here to see Mr. Kim, he isn’t in,” came the usual reply.

“Oh, I’m not here to see Mr. Kim.” The stranger looked into the house. “May I come in?”

“I’m ordered to not let anyone in.” Minji fidgeted with one hand on the door. She’s never gotten a reply where someone said they weren’t there for her owner.

“What if I said I was here for you?” The woman smiled sweetly. “I’ve been watching you. I’m very picky, you see, but something about you made me intrigued.”

Minji stood frozen, not saying a word. 

“I’m Sunmi. You can call me Unnie and I’m here to offer something you won’t be able to resist.” She reached her hand out for the woman before her, but stopped to change directions at the end, resting it against the door frame. “A chance to be free. Would you like that? No more rules would apply to you and you can kill every last asshole that have done you wrong.”

Minji didn’t understand what the woman wanted. What she was saying sounded too good to be true that she almost wanted to slam the door in the stranger’s face, but a part of her wanted to hear more.

“I could make you immortal. Nothing but the sun could ever hurt you again, but even I have connection to make you be able to walk in the day.” Sunmi leaned closer. “Let me in.”

Minji knew she would be punished whether she did a good job of cleaning the house or not. Her owner would find a reason to beat her until she was barely conscious. She decided letting this woman in was a risk she was willing to take at such a tempting offer.

“Please, come in,” she spoke softly before she could even think about what she was doing.

Sunmi smiled again before stepping through the doors. “Nice place. Would be better if you could sit at the table to eat though right?”

The other woman looked down to her feet, rarely having been able to sit at a table for as long as she could remember. She was always eating on the floor or eating off of the floor that she thought it was normal for someone with her status.

Sunmi reached into her bag to pull out a loaf of bread before handing it to the cautious woman.

Minji eyed it suspiciously. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I’ve been in a similar situation and I know how powerless it could feel when your life isn’t your own. I can promise you so much more.” She placed the bread closer to Minji as she hesitantly took it. “Eat, you don’t know when the next time you’ll get bread as good as this.”

Minji looked down at the food in her hands and back up to the woman before quickly prying at the knot on the cloth to get to the bread. She shoved a mouthful in before attempting to shove the rest that was in her hand into her mouth.

“Hey, eat slowly now,” Sunmi said softly to the hungry woman. “Imagine being able to go on days without food too. Immortality is a gift and if you accept my offer, I could make it so you’ll never feel powerless again.”

Minji finished swallowing the bread, tying the cloth that carried the food back up. “And what is it that you want from me?”

“Join my clan. Together we could cleanse this earth of the filth that’s been taking over like a plague.” Her smile was almost ear to ear that it should frighten Minji, but she couldn’t help herself from smiling too.

“You’ll be my new owner?” Minji questioned.

“Oh no love, I may be a leader, but I’m no owner.” Sunmi placed her hand on Minji’s cheek. “You’re free to do as you please as long as you stay by my side for the meantime, but once you’ve grown, you can do whatever you like.”

Minji smiled as she leaned her face into the hand. She hasn’t felt any kind of warmth from anyone before even though the woman’s hand was cold as ice. “Please have me.”

Sunmi grinned satisfied with the answer. She pushed Minji’s hair to the back to expose her neck and leaning into whisper out, “It’s going to hurt just a bit, but when the high hits, you’ll be thanking me.” She licked at Minji’s neck as the woman shivered from the unexpected contact before letting out a small cry, feeling teeth sink into her neck.

Minji usually didn’t flinch at pain, but she wasn’t expecting how much this hurt. It made her whole body go numb until she felt the euphoria that came after. It was like she was floating, the weight of the world was no longer there. She didn’t know where she was at and reached out to hold onto Sunmi as an anchor to keep her grounded. Minji let out a small whine when the teeth left her neck. It left her feeling completely drained of energy, but a high she has never experienced before.

“You just need to eat a little more okay?” The woman that had her in her arms said.

Minji watched as Sunmi bit her own wrist and placed it in front of her mouth. It was like her body moved on its own as she gently grabbed at the wrist and started drinking the blood. It made her feel more bursts of the high, smaller, but it was still there, making her head swim. 

“You’ll just rest for a little while until you wake up feeling new okay?” Sunmi was gentle as she cradled the younger girl.

“Okay,” came Minji’s tired reply. She couldn’t think straight, but for the first time in her life, she felt like someone actually cared for her. 

She remembered waking up cold and in pain, a pain that gnawed at her bones. It felt like knives dragging across her body and needles pushing from the inside out. She felt herself go numb as her voice screamed out, hurting her own ears. Minji couldn’t see a thing, but a comforting voice close by kept her from having a complete meltdown.

“You’re okay. You’re okay, child. I got you.” The voice was low, but Minji was able to make it out.

When her vision cleared, her eyes met with equally dark ones. “Unnie,” she called out instinctively. Whatever happened made her feel like her connection with the woman above her was stronger than ever although they had just met.

“You’re going to be okay now, Jiu-ah.” Sunmi rocked the girl in her arms and stroked her hair.

Minji felt like her name has always tied her down to her parents and the past she had wanted to forget. Hearing the new name Sunmi spoke made her feel reborned. 

With the new identity, Jiu reached for the hand on her head and held it close, soaking in the moment where she has woken up in her new life. “My owner should be home soon,” she said remembering her situation before their meeting.

“You’re hungry aren’t you, darling?” Sunmi asked, ignoring what Jiu said.

The woman sat up, nodding. She didn’t crave the usual foods she craved. No, she craved for something else, but she didn’t know what. 

“When he comes through the front door, you’ll know what to do.”

Jiu thought she would be scared facing the man, but something in her knew that everything has changed and he no longer held any power over her.

They waited on the couch for the man to arrive and when he did, he came crashing in loudly. The alcohol off of him smelled stronger than before as he made his way into the house.

“Who the fuck is this?” He yelled, stomping over to the two women on the couch.

Sunmi sat with one leg crossed over the other, a smirk on her face as Jiu stood up quickly to get between them.

He tried grabbing for her, but Jiu twisted his wrist, snapping it before he could lay a finger on her. He screamed in pain. “You bitch!” He used his other arm to swing at her, but again, it was caught and twisted so far straight behind him, that Jiu was sure she was going to rip his arm off and so she did.

The sight and smell of his blood made her teeth itch. Jiu licked at them, feeling the sharp incisors as she grabbed the man by the hair and sunk her teeth in, not caring that she was making a mess of the floor she had cleaned every other day. 

When Jiu was done, she threw the motionless man down like a rag doll and stared at it. She has never seen a dead body before, but to see someone who she used to fear become nothing but a scared pathetic man made her want to imprint the memory in her head.

“No one will ever own you again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl, totally forgot i was suppose to use jiu's real name "minji" since the beginning and only remembered after i wrote this chap, but i made it work somehow xD. also, alexa, play haseul's "let me in"


	28. SWITCH

Everything was dark, so dark she couldn’t even see her own hands as she wandered aimlessly, arms outstretched, in search of anything. She shouted out, but no voice could be heard. There was no sound, no indication that she even existed in a place she felt like she has been to before. Her thoughts were a mess of nothing that even made sense. There were just incoherent words, all jumbled together as she tried to pick something distinct out of the disarray. 

A name.

Was it her name?

It got louder until it got too overwhelming. It was like every emotion started surfacing up and the silence couldn’t even drown it out.

Yerim jolted awake, gasping for air as if she’s been holding it under water.

“Yerim!” She reached out for the voice as her vision cleared and latched onto the small blonde.

“Chae—,” Yerim spoke so quietly, she wasn’t sure she spoke at all.

“I’m here.” Chaewon held her tightly in her arms, almost afraid of letting go. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m,” her voice trailed, taking notice of the headache that was pounding away. “I’m okay. I just— I think the spell just took a lot out of me.”

The blonde sighed, already knowing how bad fighting against blood magic could get. The purple haired girl was already into it before they met, so she couldn’t stop Yerim even if she tried. It didn’t seem like her place to order someone around who has already been too far into the dark arts, but if she could convince her other clan members not to, she would do anything in her power to stop them. 

Yerim was levelheaded, Chaewon trusted her to make the right choices although there has been times where she needed the blonde to remind her of the dangers. They all needed the reminder at times when it came to fighting for loved ones.

When they let go of the hug, Yerim laid back down, only noticing now that Hyunjin was in her cat form, snuggling up beside her. She pulled the cat in close as it purred. It wasn’t unusual for the witch to stay in that state, preferring a form that didn’t have any flaws compared to her human body that was littered with scars and a small limp she couldn’t get rid of.

“How long have I been out for?” Yerim finally noticed everyone else in the room, looking concerned, but gave her the space she needed and she was thankful for that.

“All night and day. The sun is about to go down. Thought you’d be out longer.” Chaewon got up from the couch. “We’re trying to do a location spell on the witches that have the cloaking spell up to find Mama, but I’m not getting through.”

The black cat hopped off of the couch and stretched herself on Chaewon’s leg while she was standing. She kept meowing until the blonde looked down and picked up the cat. “You’re such a brat sometimes.” Hyunjin let out another meow in response. “Let me try one more time and then you can have a go at it okay?” She replied as if she understood what the cat was saying.

Hyunjin jumped out of her arms and went back to her place where Yerim was still resting. Vivi was now up, sitting besides the two witches, exchanging words of thanks and scolding of how dangerous it was.

“It doesn’t feel right,” Haseul spoke up. “I should be finding ways to get Sooyoung back, not you guys.” The longer she didn’t know what was going on with Sooyoung, the more antsy she got. She needed to know if the other vampire was okay or even alive. Haseul tried to push the thought aside, but she couldn’t help but feel afraid.

“You can’t do everything on your own, Unnie,” Chaewon said, tapping her fingers on the counter. “I know my coven’s not immortal, but they’ve faced vampires, other witches, hell, we’ve went up against rank A demons and lived to tell the tale.” The blonde sighed and reached out to hold Haseul’s hand. “Our home is going to turn to shit and we’re not just going to stand by and watch it happen, you know that.”

“I don’t remember you cussing this much,” Jinsol commented as she came over with a few glasses of blood that were in Yerim’s mini fridge.

“There’s more pressing matters at hand, Mom. Me cussing is the least of your worries.”

“You’re right, like how you’re gonna try to locate Sooyoung again. Don’t you need to rest?”

“No, not really.” The small blonde shrugged before going to the middle of the floor and sitting down, crossing her legs. “Jiu really wants her own powerful hybrid, but does she really think she could find someone better than me?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing, “anyways, describe to me how her powers are like again please.”

“She’s actually pretty strong for a witch, not so much a vampire, or Jiwoo’s just too good at hand to hand combat,” Yerim spoke up, having fought the hybrid longer.

“Jiwoo’s just too good at hand to hand combat.” Jungeun nodded along seriously with her arms crossed.

Everyone in the room turned to look at her.

“What?” She stared back. “I’m just stating the truth. You guys try sparring with her.”

“Yeah um, she likes telekinesis a lot. Seems to have better offensive than defensive abilities,” Yerim continued. “I sensed a bit of dark magic with her attacks, so maybe that’s why some of them were strong, but I don’t think she has enough mana to keep it up for long.”

Chaewon hummed. “Okay, that narrows it down a bit. Looking for a bulldozer hybrid who doesn’t know how to conserve her energy, got it.” She exhaled loudly out of the mouth before closing her eyes with her hands on her knees.

Everyone else in the room stayed completely silent so that the blonde could concentrate. Another exhale could be heard from frustration after a few minutes and then Chaewon opened one eye, sighing.

“Ok, my turn.” All eyes went to Hyunjin who no longer was in her cat form. She didn’t waste time to take Chaewon’s spot on the floor. “I’m just going to cycle through the witches until I find something, so this might take a bit.”

“I know you don’t need me to tell you, but please be careful anyways. If you feel something wrong, you get out of it right away okay?” Chaewon was still at her eye level and waited for a nod before standing up and going over to Yerim.

They watched in silence once again, not sure how long it would take. If this didn’t work, then they would have to do it the old fashion way by tracking their enemy’s steps and asking around, but they didn’t want to resort to something that took too long. They’ve already been talking to people, but no one seemed to know anything or were just not talking.

Hyunjin didn’t move or make a sound for the past ten minutes. It gave Jiwoo and Jungeun the chance to really see the girl since she was always either gone or in her cat form. They noticed another scar peeking out of her left sleeve that might be an extension of the one on her face and neck. Behind the thick scars and intimidating personality, the witch’s features made her look innocent in this meditative state.

Just as the quiet started itching for them to make noise, Hyunjin’s eyes shot open at the same time she reached a hand out, but before she could say a word, she vanished into thin air, replacing her with another witch the coven knew.

“Hyunjin!” They yelled out in unison as the lights turned off and it became a battle of different colored magic being thrown at each other.

“Be careful, she can switch places with anything and,” the voice stopped, followed by a crash.

As the shop lit up with each attack, everyone was able to make out where others were, but as it got dark and lit up again, people would be at different spots, making it hard to know where to attack and who they were attacking.

“Where’s Hyunjin, you bitch!” Another voice yelled out in the dark, followed by eden green lights.

The witch had on a smirk as her silver hair flashed with Chaewon’s color before being replaced by blonde.

Jinsol barely was able to duck out of the way on time as the attack was aimed straight for her head. She growled, running for the enemy to tackle her down. Her body collided with another. Her fist was about to meet face when a high pitched voice yelled out to her. She stopped inches away, falling to one elbow, realizing it was Jiwoo and not the witch that was under her. Just as fast as she realized, she found herself at a different part of the shop.

Jiwoo looked up in surprise, but still managed to move her head to the side when another fist came down for her face. She grabbed the wrist with both arms and quickly bucked off the witch with her hips, rolling them to the side before taking the top position. Luda pressed her open palm to Jiwoo’s chest, but her magic was stopped, giving her a painful zap through the arm instead. The redhead used that to her advantage, grabbing the arm and moving off her opponent to get to the side, but just like before, the witch was replaced by someone else.

“Don’t break my arm!” 

Jiwoo stopped, recognizing the voice as Jungeun and instead, pulled the girl up into a tight hug.

“I honestly think it’s better to just stay put,” Jungeun said as Jiwoo changed their position so that the redhead was back hugging the brunette with her chin on her shoulder.

They watched as the scene unfolded in front of them, ready to attack when needed, but it seemed more like a mess if they intervened. 

Objects and people were switched around the shop every time they could see with the flash of lights. It was chaotic at best, but they stayed where they were until they were needed. There was a moment where they were about to jump in, but the lights turned back on and all magic stopped.


	29. HIDEOUT

One moment, Hyunjin was sitting in the middle of Yerim’s shop, but now, she was standing in some room with no windows. She threw up her hands quick at a sudden attack thrown at her. The shield she had up made the magic spread around the invisible wall around her before it bounced off and hit the ceiling, causing pieces of it to fall to the ground. She was only a few feet away Dreamcatcher’s witches and two more witches she was all too familiar with.

Hyunjin looked behind to see how much space she had when her eyes widen. “Sooyoung unnie.” She took careful steps back while keeping an eye on her enemies as they threw constant attacks at her.

The woman was still hanging, head down and blood pooling around her feet. Hyunjin hadn’t even realized that she was making bloody footprints with each step she took. She turned her head back to the other witches when a particularly strong blast caused her shield to falter. The only way she could teleport to Yerim’s was to transform back into a cat, but she wasn’t sure if she had time to do that before getting hit. 

“You can’t keep the shield up forever, Hyunjin!” The one besides Juyeon yelled.

“Wanna bet, bitch?” She scoffed, making hand signs to reinforce her shield.

The witch with the scars racked her brain for ideas. Even if she could teleport out, there was no way she could take Sooyoung with her. This was their purpose, to make it seem like she was so close for a chance to rescue the vampire, but know trying would be impossible. 

Hyunjin reached up to her face when she felt something warm drip down. She pulled her hand back from her nose to see blood.

“Like I said, you can’t keep the shield up forever, Hyunjin,” the witch taunted.

“Stop saying my name like that, Jiyeon,” she said dragging out the name in a mocking manner. 

Jiyeon was the leader of her coven that consisted of Juyeon and Luda. It’s been years since Hyunjin has last seen them, but it seemed like all familiar enemies were coming back with the rise of Dreamcatcher. She wasn’t particularly fond of seeing them again, but if this meant that they could wipe out all of them at once, she was willingly glad to do so.

There was a hole somewhere in her shield that Juyeon was focusing on. It was the only way her blood bending was affecting Hyunjin. The hole must be too small since she still had control over her body, but if the other witch was able to get through, it could be game over for her. She was stronger than that though. Hyunjin knew she could get out of there, but it would mean leaving Sooyoung behind and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to do that at the moment although she had to soon.

Hyunjin let the attacks keep hitting the magic she had up. She was waiting for her shield to absorb more of their power to unleash it. And when it got to the point she couldn’t hold any more, she reached out to place her hand on Sooyoung’s waist as a silent apology that she couldn’t take the vampire with her.

Hyunjin raised her right arm up to finally throw an attack of her own. Right when she let go though, one moment she was standing, and the next, she felt the bottom half of her back hitting something from behind before crashing to the ground onto her stomach.

“Hyunjin!” A voice called out as she grunted in pain.

An arm pulled at hers and she let them, already recognizing the dark wooden floor of Yerim’s shop. She was rolled on her back with faces hovering above her’s.

“I’m so sorry,” Chaewon frantically exclaimed and pulled the witch’s head into her lap. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Crystal and map, now.” Hyunjin struggled to sit up and almost laid back down from the dizziness, but she had to get back to work.

The items were brought over and placed on the ground as Hyunjin took the crystal and dangled the silver chain that was attached on it over a map. Now that she had a sense of the place Sooyoung was at, it was easier to find. She watched as the crystal swung around in circles before landing itself onto a point.

“There. Sooyoung unnie’s there, but they could be gone by the time we get there.” Hyunjin examined the map to see how far away they were from the location. She frowned when a drop of blood landed on the paper.

“Unnie.” Yerim’s voice was full of concern.

“You’re not okay.” Chaewon placed her hand under Hyunjin’s chin to get the witch to look at her.

“I am. Juyeon didn’t get far.” She shook her head and tucked hair behind her ear. To be honest, her back hurt more from crashing into the counter, but she didn’t want to make Chaewon feel more bad than she already did. “Help me up?”

Chaewon stood and reached a hand out for Hyunjin to grab. She tried not to wince when she was helped up to her feet.

“You dropped this.” Jiwoo had an object in her hand that looked a bit like a tiny gameboy attached to a short yellow lanyard and a faded eden green carabiner. “Another witch device?”

“No.” Hyunjin grabbed the object and examined it for damages before clipping it back onto one of the loops on her jeans. “Thanks.”

“You still keep that thing around?” Chaewon asked.

Hyunjin blinked, eyebrows scrunched. “Yeah.” She shook her head, trying to forget images that flashed into her mind. “We should head out now if we want to find Unnie.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” The small blonde frowned.

“What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“Hyunjin, please just stay here with Yerim.”

“They have five witches on their side, I’m coming along.”

“No, you’re not.”

Hyunjin was about to argue again when Chaewon’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Please, Hyunjin. I know that hit you took from me hurts, so stop trying to be tough all the time.” She pulled the taller girl into a hug and whispered out, “I can’t lose you.”

As much as the two bickered and teased each other, they both knew how much they cared for one another.

Hyunjin sighed in defeat, but understood. “Okay, but I really am fine,” she tried to reassure.

“It is best if you stay here and rest,” Haseul said already at the door. “Vivi, you’re staying too and don’t even try to argue because you won’t win.”

Vivi was still seated on the couch, already knowing Haseul was going to say that. As much as she wanted to help in finding Sooyoung, she knew she was in no condition to. 

“I called Jihyo earlier. Her clan is keeping watch around here, so maybe go out for a short blood run,” Haseul continued. “She also asked me to check out some dead bodies that’s been showing up around town. Did you guys want to take up that task?”

They nodded in agreement. There was no way they could sit around and wait anyways. It would drive them mad and Haseul knew that. 

“Like Hyunjin said, they could be gone by the time we get there, but we have to look anyways. There could be clues or just anything we could use to find Sooyoung.” Haseul opened the door and stepped out, before turning around. “Stay safe and thank you guys again for all you’ve done.”

“Of course. Sooyoung unnie’s family,” Yerim spoke, receiving a smile in return before the vampires left the shop.

“We’re stealing a car,” Haseul announced.

There were no arguments to that as they walked quickly.

It felt strange for Jungeun and Jiwoo to feel the heat on their faces. They still weren’t used to walking out in the sun, so they almost hesitated to walk out of the shop. Jungeun rubbed her arms every now and then. Jiwoo noticed, taking the girl’s hand in her own to stop her from the reminder that she was thrown out in the sun to burn not too long ago.

“It’s an abandoned hotel we used to go to when we were too lazy to find a place to stay,” Jinsol said while hotwiring a car they found not too far from the shop. “What Hyunjin described sounded like the basement and with all the blood on her shoes, we have to be prepared for the state Sooyoung might be in.

Haseul looked out the window from the front passenger seat as Jinsol finished up and began driving. She was trying to keep it together for everyone, but sometimes being a leader took its toll on her. Sometimes she just wanted to break from the own rules she has set for herself and just let her vampire instincts take over, but she knew she had to keep a level head to protect her clan. 

Haseul flinched as a hand was placed on top of her own.

“Hey, you okay?” Jinsol glanced over. “We’re going to get Sooyoung back.”

“I know. I’m just worried is all.”

Jinsol sighed, wanting to say more, but she wanted to talk to Haseul one on one, knowing the women didn’t like to express herself in front of others.


	30. NOTHING WRONG WITH ME

“Did you know she could do that?” Hyunjin asked as Yerim kept the bag of ice on her back.

“No, of course not. If I knew, I wouldn’t have let you use the locating spell.” Yerim frowned at how colorful the giant bruise already looked. “Probably right when you found her magic presence, she switched with you before you could break off the connection. She must have been training that power of her’s though. There’s no way she could switch places without actually seeing the object or person like the last time we saw her.”

“I was so close to breaking off the connection. If only,” her voice trailed.

“Hey, it was something you couldn’t predict, okay?” Vivi gave a squeeze to the girl’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, I know,” Hyunjin sighed, unconsciously rubbing her right knee.

“You okay?” Yerim asked.

“Hmm?” Hyunjin followed the girl’s gaze to her leg. “Oh no, I’m fine. It just aches sometimes.”

This time, Yerim was the one sighing. She knew the other girl has been stressing and she chose not to say anything, but this was just one more thing to add to the mess in her head that Hyunjin always kept to herself.

“I really am fine. Stop worrying so much.” The taller one stood up once Yerim took the ice bag off of her back. “We should head out.”

“How could I not? You say you’re fine when your back is black and blue, and you say you’re fine when I know you’re beating yourself up for not being able to get Sooyoung unnie out of there.” Yerim followed the other witch as she started walking towards the door.

Hyunjin stopped in her tracks and turned back around. “You’re right. I should have gotten Sooyoung unnie out of there, but I couldn’t. It seems like I fuck up everything I do and now we’re not even sure if she’s still there,” Hyunjin raised her voice, but instantly regretted her outburst. She wasn’t one to talk much, but bottling things up had its consequences and she knew Yerim knew that she wasn’t just talking about this situation.

“Hyunjin,” Vivi said quietly. “There was no way you could have gotten her out, we all know that. And it’s no good if we’re fighting like this. I know things are more tense, but we got to keep a clear head although I also want to destroy everything right now.” Vivi was used to being the one that needed to calm down, but with only the two witches here, she had to step up as the older sister role.

Hyunjin ran her hand through her hair, exposing more of the scar on her face that was covered by it. “I know. I’m sorry. I just— you know how I am. I just overthink everything.”

Yerim silently pulled the girl into a soft hug, afraid of hurting her. “If you turn into Aeongie, you can just chill on my shoulder,” she suggested while smiling, not wanting Hyunjin to walk on her own if she was in pain.

Hyunjin gave a small smile back. “You sure? Chaewon’s always complaining when I do that.”

“You know she loves it. She just likes giving you a hard time.” Yerim tapped her own shoulder when the cat appeared before her and she bent down to pick her up. “You’re so cute,” she cooed, knowing Hyunjin couldn’t say anything back to that.

Instead, she got a meow in response as the cat stretched herself and then laid lazily on her stomach on Yerim’s shoulder.

“About those dead bodies, I’m totally not going to feed off of them, because that’s just gross,” Vivi spoke, opening the door to the shop. “But then again, feeding off of crappy men suck too, but I guess I can’t be too picky right?”

Yerim hummed, never having the ability to imagine going on a liquid diet, much less a liquid diet of blood. 

She took one glance back before stepping out and locking up the door.

The shop looked almost spotless minus a few things Yerim had to throw away. Having powers had its perks, but also being low on mana meant they had to clean some things by hand since they were trying to reserve as much energy as they could.

“Is Jihyo unnie still at the alley a few blocks from here?” Yerim asked, not using much energy to keep a protection spell on them.

“She said she was having lunch around the area, so she should be there for a while.” Vivi held her stomach at how empty it was and how fatigued she felt even after having some blood at Yerim’s. “Goes out to check up on dead bodies and then goes to eat lunch. I barely remember my human life, but that isn’t normal right?”

Yerim chuckled at the pink haired vampire. It seemed like Vivi always just said whatever was on her mind, something none of her coven members could relate too, but then again, the vampire has lived much longer. She sometimes wondered how different she would be if she was immortal, how her members would be. Yerim couldn’t fathom it, not wanting to live on forever in an endless cycle of nothingness, but maybe forever wasn’t such a bad idea if she was with her coven.

“Oh god, such a rancid smell yet Jihyo just let the body stay here without informing the authorities?” Vivi raised her hand up to her face to block it out, cursing that vampires had a better sense of smell.

“Pretty sure she is the authorities.” Yerim spotted the alley as she quickened up her pace.

They stopped, seeing Jihyo and another person with her stepping out from a restaurant ahead.

“I thought I sensed you guys,” Jihyo said while walking over to them.

“Unnie.” Yerim smiled and gave the wolf pack leader a quick hug before turning to the other. “Ah, Nayeon unnie. I haven’t seen you guys in such a long time,” she said giving her a hug as well.

“Kind of wish we could meet on better circumstances.” Nayeon reached over to play with the cat’s paw and got a meow in return. “I missed you too, Aeongie.”

“Like I told Haseul, there’s been dead bodies showing up around town, but it doesn’t seem like there was any foul play and I would have been able to smell drugs if it was that,” Jihyo explained, getting right down to business. The leader led them to the alley before turning into it.

Yerim finally got a whiff of the smell and covered her face with her sleeve.

They walked a little farther in and stopped by a pile of newspaper.

“We found her like this, left under a bunch of rubbish as if she was trash.” Jihyo bent down, moving things aside until a face was revealed. “I wanted to close the woman’s eyes, but figured it’d be best to leave her for you guys to check it out for yourselves before I touched anything.”

Yerim let her hand drop from her face as she got closer to the body. “She looked frightened.” She stared into the dead woman’s eyes, not sure what she was searching for. “Did you check her body? You said there seemed to be no foul play, so no markings?”

“I couldn’t smell any blood and there’s no bruising on her neck that would indicate asphyxiation.”

Yerim could only think of one thing, but if it was what she was thinking, it would be bad news for all of them. “Her eyes look a bit cloudy, dull of its color.” She used a bent out of shape pen she found on the ground to move more of the rubbish aside. “Cracked fingernails.” She pointed out. “Not necessarily from scratching or getting away from someone, but it just looks really fragile. Her hair looks like it’s falling off too, although she doesn’t look that old.”

“Do you know what this is?” Jihyo asked, not really understanding why Yerim was only saying some points out loud.

Yerim sighed, but didn’t say anything as she used the same pen to move the dead woman’s bangs to the side before hovering her hand over it. They watched as nothing happened for a second until a faint symbol appeared on her pale forehead. It became more apparent the longer Yerim’s hand was there, and when it was finally fully visible, she pulled away, revealing a marking of some kind.

“Seems like we have a case of a witch going around literally sucking the life out of people.” It was something Yerim has never witnessed, but has read it from books her grandmother kept in the house.

“So like a vampire, but a witch?” Jihyo was still confused as she used her hand to close the woman’s eyes.

“When I say sucking the life out of people, I meant that whoever this witch is is hunting down other witches to steal their mana, killing them in the process.” Yerim threw the pen down and crossed her arms. “It’s one of the darkest of dark magic, to take someone’s power without their permission and to drain them dry of it.”

“Could it be Dreamcatcher?” Nayeon spoke up, tapping her foot on the ground.

Werewolves and vampires fighting each other seemed like an even match, but with witches in the picture, it was something more unpredictable.

“It could be, but I feel like this is more up in Jiyeon’s coven’s area. I mean, they might as well be considered Dreamcatcher since they’re allies now.” Yerim shook her head, hating the idea that if those witches advanced in the dark arts the last time they met, it might mean that she might have to fight back using it too.

“Jiyeon’s coven?” Jihyo asked.

“I wouldn’t call them old friends, but they’re a group I knew back when I was a teen. I made the mistake of asking them to help me when I didn’t know much about the dark arts.”

“I haven’t known you long, but it doesn’t seem like you’d be into the whole dark side.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it the dark side, it just depends on how you use it, and I choose to use it for good. It’s dangerous though and powerful, that’s why people who dabble in it usually end up using it for selfish reasons.” Yerim started walking out of the alley, the smell making her stomach feel queasy. “It kind of messes with your mind sometimes. The more you use it, the more vulnerable you get to those. Sometimes you feel like you’re in a dream, but you’re awake, other times, you’re dreaming, but you think it’s real.” Yerim didn’t exactly know what she was talking about. She was just rambling, trying to figure out who and what she has to deal with and the consequences that will come with it.

“That sounds scary.” Nayeon frowned as they stood just at the entrance of the alley.

Yerim hummed, not really paying attention to anything around her before snapping back. “Yeah, um, can you send me a list of where all of these bodies were found and if more show up?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll send them over right now. There’s only been a handful, but it seems like it’s been every other day for a week now.” Jihyo pulled out her phone to send the list.

“Whoever this is, they’re just getting started then. We might be able to stop them before they get too far.” Yerim rubbed at her temples and then pulled the two wolves into a hug. “We’ll see you guys okay? I’m going to go back to my place to check out some stuff on this.”

“Yeah, thanks for everything Yerim,” Jihyo said and then turned to Vivi. “There’s been some gang violence on the other block, this is the time they’re usually patrolling the place. Thought you liked to know since you’re looking a bit more sluggish than usual.”

“Duly noted.” Vivi did a little head bow in a sign for thanks before the two groups parted ways.

Jihyo was part of a team that kept humans safe, but she wasn’t one to always follow the rules when she knew nothing was always black and white. If she could help keep the streets clean without having to do the dirty work herself while feeding the vampires that are the only things fighting back against Dreamcatcher, then she’s willing to help them any way she could.


	31. REFLECTION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i said i wasn't writing much and then wrote 3 chaps in like 2 days lol

Vivi and the others started heading to the shop after having fed. They took some blood and saved them in jars for the rest of the clan for when they got back as well, knowing some members were still recovering.

“Now, it’s my turn to ask.” Vivi glanced over at the purple haired girl. “You’re okay right? What you did back there for me, I know it took a lot out of you.” She was concerned before, but hearing what Yerim said about the aftermath of using too much dark magic worried her even more.

“I’m good. My head feels a bit foggy at times, but I can usually shake it off,” Yerim tried to reassure.

“Usually? What about the times you can’t?”

“I mean, I can, eventually, but it just takes a little more time. I’m used to it though, so I can handle it.” Yerim stopped in her tracks before turning the other way. “Can we actually go back to my place? My apartment I mean, I want to shower and grab a few things. It’s close to the shop anyways.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s fine.” Vivi eyebrows knitted together. She was thankful that Yerim got her out of her torturous predicament, but was sorry that the younger one had to suffer because of her.

Vivi woke up feeling absolutely drained, but looking around to not find Sooyoung and asking where she was without a quick answer scared her more. She was so out of it, but had wanted to get up right there and then to march out looking for the younger vampire. And now that she was here, resting while everyone else went to go search for Sooyoung, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to do anything.

“It’s kind of a mess, but that’s cuz Chaewon gets bored while we’re sleeping and just does whatever that she does,” Yerim said, dropping her keys onto the table once they entered. “I’m going to shower real quick, so just make yourself at home.”

Yerim walked into her shared room with Hyejoo while the other two stayed in the living room.

“I’m going to put the blood away,” Vivi said to the cat that was laying on the couch.

Vivi opened the fridge to not find much in it and frowned. “Do you guys not eat or something?” She placed the jars in when a bright colored bag on the floor by the sink caught her attention from the corner of her eye. “Why is there cat food? Don’t tell me you actually eat cat food, Hyunjin.”

“That’s not mine. Yerim likes to feed the strays outside of our place.”

Vivi turned around to see Hyunjin back in her human form with one arm outstretched on top of the couch and a leg crossed over the other.

“Yeah sure, anyways, do you guys want me to buy you some groceries or something, because I don’t think ketchup and cabbage counts as a meal.” Vivi made her way over to the couch and plopped herself next to the witch.

“Yerim is the only one that has been staying here the most to take care of her shop. Chaewon and I have been back and forth from here to Jeju for Hyejoo, so we don’t really eat here.” Hyunjin sighed, the arm on top of the couch went to rubbing her right knee again. “She says she eats, but sometimes I’m not sure.”

“That kid is a workaholic. I know she stays after shop is closed just to study up on magic. There’s like no off switch with her.” Vivi remembered days where they’d visit Yerim around closing time and quickly leaving as the shop was supposed to close, but the witch always said that they could stay longer since she’d still be there practicing her arts.

Hyunjin hummed in agreement. “I think after this is over, I should stay with her more. We’ve just been so worried over Hyejoo that I sometimes forget that Yerim’s the type that needs people around her. She’s too bright to contain all that energy to herself.” Hyunjin smiled thinking of Yerim always being happy, but quickly frowned when she realized that she hasn’t seen that bright smile in a while.

“The shower’s been off for quite some time.” Vivi pointed out, looking at the direction of Yerim’s and Hyejoo’s room.

“Just give her a bit, she might need it,” Hyunjin said, knowing as much as Yerim liked people, she also needed some space after stressful situations.

~

Yerim stood in front of the fogged up mirror with her hands on the sink for the past few minutes. She stared into a reflection she could not see before reaching a hand out to wipe at it. All of the noise around her seemed to disappear as she could only hear the sound of her own breathing trying to keep it steady. 

Breathe in through the nose and exhale through the mouth, she thought to herself, but the more she concentrated on it, the more uneven her breathing got. All of the sudden, the beating of her heart could be heard pounding in her head and her grip on the edge of the sink got tighter. 

The girl in the mirror looked like her, but wasn’t reflecting what she was doing. Yerim blinked rapidly and tried not to panic.

“October 19th, November 15th, November 19th, November 13th.” Yerim’s voice trembled as she recited the birthdates of her coven members under her breath before repeating it again to get her mind to focus. “October 19th, November 15th, Nov—,” she trailed when her reflection gave a smile that wasn’t her’s. It looked like her, but everything about the mirror image was slightly off.

Yerim stared into the stranger’s eyes as the reflection’s hand slowly reached up while hers were still planted on the sink. “Get out of my head,” she growled out quietly, clenching her teeth. “You can’t have me.”

The hand didn’t stop, almost reaching the edge of the mirror when a knock on the restroom door jolted her out of the trance, making her whip her head in the direction of the sound.

“Hey, you okay in there? You’ve been in there for a while now.” Yerim heard Hyunjin’s voice on the other side of the door.

Yerim looked back into the mirror to find the reflection now mimicked her movements. She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a second.” She waved a hand around to see if it was back to normal and sighed in relief when it was.

Yerim ran a shaky hand through her hair. This wasn’t the first time this has happened, but it seemed like every time it does, it gets a little harder to snap back to reality. It’s like with each drop of blood she gave to the dark arts, it also took something else from her that she was uncertain if she’d ever get back. With time, it gets better, but once in a while, it comes back very faintly, like a whisper in her ear that she wasn’t sure she actually heard or a light tap on a shoulder when no one was there. 

Her coven knew that it could get bad sometimes, but she’s never told them just how bad it could actually get and how much worse it has become every time she spilled her own blood for the sake of keeping her family safe. Yerim knew she had to tell them soon because as much as she thinks she could handle it, there were times where she would have nightmares she wasn’t sure she’d wake up from, and moments where she’s awake, but nothing is like how it seems.

Yerim closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, letting out another shaky breath before opening the restroom door that led to her room. She stared at Hyejoo’s empty bed that was unmade, two game controllers resting on the edge of it. Hyejoo was never one to make her bed, saying it was pointless since she’d be there all day anyways. Yerim’s eyes welled up with tears thinking of her best friend who hasn’t been home. She hasn’t seen her in a few weeks and she was missing Hyejoo more than ever now that she was in this vulnerable state. Yerim just wanted a hug, she’d be okay with just a hug, knowing the tough looking girl was rather soft and knew when Yerim needed that comforting contact.

“I can do this,” Yerim whispered to herself and clearing her throat before walking out into the living room. “Grabbed a few things that might be useful, so we can go now,” she said calmly to the two on the couch that were flipping through channels.

“Do you just eat ketchup and cabbage all day?” Vivi asked, turning off the tv and facing the witch.

Yerim frowned confused. “What?”

“That’s all you have in your fridge.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really have time to cook. I usually just buy food.”

“And when you say buy food, you just mean all of those empty cup noodles in your trash right?”

Yerim crossed her arms. “Look, I’ll eat healthier okay? But right now, we have more pressing matters.”

Vivi stood up from the couch and pulled out her wallet.

“I don’t need you guys to keep giving me money. I appreciate it, I really do, but I’m fine.” Yerim reached for Vivi’s hand to stop her.

The pink haired vampire brushed her off. “Yerim, I don’t even need money. I can get more any time I want. It’s okay if you need help and we want to help, so please, just take the money, for you and your members.”

Yerim sighed and bite her lip. “Thank you,” she whispered out. She has always felt guilty taking money, but she knew there was no need to feel that way because what Vivi said was true. She was just so use to taking care of herself that it was sometimes hard to let others in.

“Yeah, thank you Unnie. I’ll make sure Yerim eats more than just low grade cup noodles.” Hyunjin smiled and gave Vivi an one armed hug before turning to Yerim. “Don’t give too much to Hyejoo when she comes back though, she’s just going to buy games. Give her more when she needs it.”

Yerim chuckled at how true that was, but the introverted girl played as much games as she ate, so she wasn’t so worried about Hyejoo not eating..

A buzz from Vivi’s pocket turned their attention to it as the woman picked it up. “Hello? Yeah, we’re at her apartment.” There was a short pause as the other side talked. “Wait, what? Okay, we’re coming right now.”

“What happened? Did they find Sooyoung unnie?” Yerim asked as they all headed out of the apartment.

Vivi has been trying to keep it together, but she couldn’t help all the emotions that were rushing up in that instant. “Yeah, they found her.”


	32. LOST

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> being back in the states makes me so unmotivated, so updates will come slower probably, idk

“How was she able to attack in Yerim’s shop? I thought that couldn’t happen,” Jiwoo asked as their car reached a gate that led to an abandoned looking hotel.

“She was countering it somehow. I think when she switched places, she gets this split second where she can do something before she gets the shit zapped out of her,” Chaewon said getting out and using a little magic to open up the locked gate. “They might already know we’re here, but they might also be gone.”

“I’ll lead.” Jinsol never thought she’d be back to a place that held so many memories of her past with Sooyoung and Dreamcatcher, but here she was, walking towards Jiu’s sick twisted game.

They didn’t go through the front, instead, there was a door that was cracked open at the back. Jinsol sighed knowing this could just be a trap, but it was a chance they were willing to take if Sooyoung was here. She led them through a completely dark hallway that smelled of dead bodies. Chaewon lit up the place with a spell that looked like a small orb of light that hovered a little above her hand. It was a short distance before they reached a door. Jinsol took in a breath before opening it. It led them to a well lit lobby of the hotel with many windows. 

“There’s stairs over here that leads down to a basement like room.” Jinsol kept walking until they were at another door, her hand stopping at the knob. “It’s too empty. They should have attacked by now.” She had already lost hope that Sooyoung was actually here and knew the others were feeling the same.

“Either way, we’re going down there,” Haseul tried saying with a straight face, but she was panicking more than she’d like to admit. “Open the door.”

Jinsol gave out a small nod before twisting the door knob, hearing it creak as she yanked it open and ran down the stairs with the others, ready to fight if she had to.

“Sooyoung.” Jinsol’s voice was shaky looking into the empty room as she reached the bottom.

There was nothing but chains on the ceiling and too much blood spilled around the room.

“That blast on the wall.” Chaewon pointed to the opposite side of where the chains were. “Looks like Hyunjin did some damage.” She was faced away from everyone else.

“Chaewon,” Jinsol called out quietly before placing a hand on the younger hybrid’s arm.

Chaewon didn’t turn around, instead, her shoulders started to shake uncontrollably as she fell to her knees. Jinsol bent down with her and held her in her arms.

“Where’s Mama?” The small blonde sobbed, not being able to contain her emotions anymore. Everyone kept trying to keep it together, but she was just so tired.

“Shh, it’s okay. We’ll find her.” Jinsol tried comforting her while looking up to Haseul who looked like she wanted to break down as well. She reached up for the leader to take her hand.

“There has to be something, anything we could use around here,” Jungeun spoke up. “You said they liked playing games right? There’s no way they’d leave this place for us to find without giving us something.”

Jinsol racked her brain, trying to think of anything before quietly whispering out, “room 808.”

“What?” Jungeun asked confused by the response.

“Jiu’s room is 808. She kept all of her prized possessions in that room, including Sooyoung when she could,” Jinsol explained, standing up and pulling Chaewon with her. She held her hand as they walked back up from the basement and into the lobby.

They walked up all the stairs until they reached the 8th floor. They weren’t sure what they’d find, but hoped for anything at this point.

“Could you guys stay here? I— I think I need to go in there alone.” Jinsol passed Chaewon’s hand over to Haseul’s to hold.

“Be careful.” Haseul didn’t want her to go in by herself, but knew it was something she had to do.

Jinsol nodded before pushing the jammed door open. She stepped in to feel like she was her younger self again. Some things were still in their place while others were missing. She walked over to the coffee table and ran her fingers across it. Not being able to handle the blast from the past, Jinsol took a seat and looked around the room. There was no longer a bed, just the frame, rusted from years of being unused. 

Jinsol’s elbows were on the table now with her face in her hands. She just wanted to cry, but knew she had to keep it together. She glanced around again, nothing really caught her eye until the very faint smell of blood entered her nose.

Sooyoung’s blood. 

The blonde frowned and got up from her seat to walk over to the night stand. She slowly opened the drawer to reveal a small jewelry box. Jinsol’s trembling fingers opened it up and spilled its contents onto the stand. She moved around the items until she picked up a ring.

Jinsol panicked, running out of the room to meet with the others. “Sooyoung’s daywalker ring.” 

Chaewon’s hand went up to her mouth to keep herself from sobbing again. She was thinking about the worse case scenario and she knew everyone else was thinking the same although no one wanted to admit it.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Haseul growled out. “They could just be toying with us,” her voice raised as she walked over to Jiu’s room, ripping the door of its hinges and then throwing it over the stairs. The sound echoed as it hit different things on its way down before reaching the bottom. “Let’s go. We’re going back to Yerim’s.” She stomped off with her fists clenched to her side.

Jiwoo offered to drive this time, with Jungeun in the front passenger seat. Chaewon was in the middle, being hugged by Jinsol on her left, and Haseul staring out the window from the other side. The ride was quiet except for the occasional sniffing from the smaller blonde.

“I’m going to take out all of her feeding rings,” Haseul said without looking at anybody. “Someone’s going to talk. I’m going to make them, and if they don’t, I’m going to kill everyone they know, everyone they’ve ever loved. I don’t fuckin’ care anymore. If they want war, I’m bringing it to them.”

Chaewon turned to Haseul, never having seen the clan leader so unhinged. “And I’ll be right by your side.” The hybrid reached over to take a hold of the vampire’s hand.

Never in Chaewon’s human life has anyone ever loved or cared for her. She was abandoned as an infant, left on the doorsteps of an orphanage to keep her from her powers, but that couldn’t stop her from figuring out that she was a witch. 

The night she turned into a vampire was the night she was using a blood magic spell to make herself immortal, tired of a life she didn’t want anymore. Ironic how she didn’t even need to perform it as Jinsol and Sooyoung sank their teeth into her neck as she finished the ritual. 

Chaewon remembered traveling to the land of the dead, spirits all around, including her’s as her eyes closed in her human life. The spell didn’t work on her, she was already turning into a vampire as Jinsol fed the smaller blonde her blood. The spell worked on something else though. She woke up being able to talk to the dead, to raise them up, and use them as her own army. People all around her wanted to suppress her powers, but in the end, they just made her stronger.

Chaewon remembered waking up in her new life with some unexplainable connection she didn’t understand as she called out for the closest thing she could call her mother. Jinsol and Sooyoung didn’t even know her. They could have just left her, but they didn’t. They left everything they knew to care for her as if she was their own and never stopped loving her even after she decided to leave the clan to make her own coven. Now that one of her mothers were missing or even possibly dead, she was going to raise hell and nothing was going to stop her. 

They reached Yerim’s shop in no time. Getting out of the car and dragging their feet back to square one. It wasn’t until they walked farther into the alley did the smell of blood hit all of their noses. They all stopped for a second to look at each other before running towards the shop. 

They weren’t prepared for what they saw. A figure was laying on the ground, curled up in a fetal position against the entrance, trying to keep away from the light as her bare feet and ankles sizzled from the sun.

“Mama,” Chaewon breathed out and bent down next to her, reaching her hand to place on the vampire. She was preparing for the worse, never expecting to find her missing mother here as if Jiu knew all of their plans and they were just a pawn in her game.

Sooyoung flinched back and whimpered, a terrified sound they have never heard from the woman. She wouldn’t stop making sounds of pure terror and trying not to cry too loud.

“Sooyoung,” Jinsol choked out and tried to get the brunette to respond to her voice. “Sooyoung, it’s me, Jinsol. I need to put the daywalker ring back on you, you’re burning.” She got closer until she swore the vampire was trying to tell her something.

Sooyoung hugged her knees tighter, not allowing Jinsol to get to her hands.

“Sooyoung, please.” This time, it was Haseul’s desperate voice. 

The woman finally looked up slightly and was mouthing something before her voice came through. “Please, please, please,” she kept begging. “Just kill me, please. Ju— just kill me.” She sobbed quietly as her body shook.

Haseul choked back her own sob and looked over to Jinsol who now couldn’t stop crying either. “We need to get her inside.”

Chaewon nodded, not holding in her emotions, and stood up on shaky legs before taking off the spell that kept them from entering. She opened the door with Jungeun and Jiwoo as they silently went in to get supplies for what’s to come next.

“Jinsol, hey.” Haseul pulled the blonde into a hug. “Come on, she needs us.”

Jinsol nodded and wiped her face with her sleeves before trying again. “Sooyoung, we’re not going to hurt you. Please, we just need to bring you inside. You’re going to burn out here.” Jinsol reached out again, this time, the brunette let her with some hesitation.

Sooyoung was covered in blood, some dry and some parts still wet as Jinsol placed her arm under the woman’s head. The slightly taller vampire had her eyes wide open with so much fear in them, still letting out little whimpers. Jinsol uncurled Sooyoung from her fetal position to put her other arm under the legs to carry her lover. She let out a gasp when she saw the knife in Sooyoung’s stomach.

Her knife.

She bit her bottom lip to prevent her from losing it right then and there as she carried the woman on the cleared off counter that Vivi was just on when she was injured. 

Sooyoung tried curling back up, but the knife prevented her to do so as she grunted in pain.

“I need to call the others.” Haseul’s shaking hand reached into her pocket to pull out the phone. She dialed and let it ring before a voice was heard on the other line. “Vivi. Where are you guys? Are you near Yerim’s shop?” She waited for the reply before talking about. “We found Sooyoung. It’s bad, Vivi.” Haseul turned back to the group after a few more exchange of words before hanging up. “They’re coming.” She ran a hand through her hair, slightly tugging it hard out of frustration before going over to the others.

“I need to get the knife out.” Jinsol was brushing the bloody vampire’s hair out of her face while Chaewon had one of Sooyoung’s hands in her own.

“I can help hold her down,” Jungeun spoke up as Jiwoo agreed along. What they saw scared them. They weren’t used to seeing the normally icy vampire this way. She looked so vulnerable, almost like a lost child.

Jinsol nodded and whispered to Sooyoung, “Love, this is going to hurt, but you need to bear with me okay?” She didn’t get a reply as she placed both hands on the knife’s handle and looked at the younger vampires. “1, 2, 3,” she counted before yanking the weapon out, watching as blood ran freely out of the wound. 

Sooyoung screamed out and thrashed around weakly, trying to break out of their hold, but Jungeun and Jiwoo held on tightly.

Haseul was right there, biting her own wrist to fed to the brunette once she calmed down a bit. Sooyoung was too weak to feed on her own, just having blood drip into her mouth. She made gurgling sounds as Haseul pulled her wrist away. Sooyoung coughed uncontrollably, not drinking any of the blood as it came out as it dripped out of the corner of her mouth.

“Sooyoung, love, please, you need to drink,” Haseul begged as her wrist bled onto the floor.

The brunette blinked up at her, barely being able to keep her eyes open anymore. 

Chaewon was trying to keep it together as she wiped as much blood as she could off of her mother’s face with a wet towel. “Mama, please.” She still had a hold on one of her hands, giving it a light squeeze.

“Chae—,” they heard her struggle to whisper out.

“Yes, Mama, it’s me. You need to feed okay?” Chaewon was about to bite her own wrist when the entrance bursted open.

“Sooyoung!” Vivi cried out.


	33. MIND GAMES

Vivi had both her fists clenched tightly, feeling blood starting to bubble up under her fingernails as she quickened her pace with the two witches right behind her. Haseul told her that they found Sooyoung, but she didn’t know what condition she was going to find her in, only knowing that the situation wasn’t good.

They reached Yerim’s shop shortly with every emotion starting to become too overwhelming. 

Vivi yanked the door open and cried out, “Sooyoung!” She saw everyone huddled around the counter and made her way over. She gasped out at the sight of the younger vampire. “Sooyoung,” she whispered out this time.

Vivi tried reaching out when the bloody vampire recoiled back, almost making her fall off the counter if it wasn’t for Jinsol on the other side. She frowned and tried approaching again, but slowly this time.

“No, no, no,” Sooyoung repeated in between sobs, getting as far away as possible.

“She hasn’t been responding well to us,” Haseul spoke up, not sure what was wrong with the vampire since they found her. It’s not like it was the first time any of them have been tortured and probably wouldn’t be their last.

The pink haired vampire knitted her eyebrows together. Vivi didn’t know what state she expected Sooyoung to be in when she saw her again, but having the vampire not want her around hurt her even more if that was possible.

“You’re dead.” They all turned to Sooyoung who was looking directly at Vivi.

Vivi frowned as to why the vampire was saying such a thing. “Sooyoung.” She tried again.

“Stop,” Sooyoung cried out. She was trying to get onto her elbows weakly, but the blood on them kept making her slip, falling back onto the counter.

Chaewon tried to reach over to stop her mother from hurting herself when Sooyoung recoiled from her too.

“Just stop. I don’t want this anymore.” Sooyoung’s voice was strained from how much she has been crying. “You’re all dead. This isn’t real. Just kill me, please. This isn’t real,” she repeated over and over again.

The small blonde’s hand went straight up to her mouth to stop another sob from coming out as she rushed to the back of the shop with Yerim and Hyunjin following closely behind.

“Chaewon,” Yerim called out, placing a hand on the blonde’s shoulder to stop her.

“I can’t do this.” Chaewon brushed off the hand and started pacing. “How the fuck am I supposed to do this?”

“Chaewon, stop.” This time it was Hyunjin’s firm voice.

The blonde paused in her tracks and looked over at her coven members.

“We’ll find a way,” Hyunjin said.

“How?” Chaewon gritted her teeth angrily. “I’m a necromancer, not a mind manipulator.” 

They all knew this was the case with Sooyoung when they heard her say that they were all dead. It was the only answer they could think of.

“Then we kill the witch who did this. We kill the witch and the spell goes away.” Yerim didn’t kill other humans, but when it came down to it, if she had to protect her family, she was ready to break her own rules. “Let’s go back out and talk to the others.” The purple haired girl rubbed Chaewon’s arm to calm her down.

The blonde didn’t waste any time explaining as she entered the main part of the shop again.“A witch has been messing with her mind.” She let out a shaky sigh. “At first, I didn’t know what was going on, but the whole thing about how Mama thinks we’re all dead and this isn’t real. It sounds like we’re dealing with a mind manipulator.”

“What are we supposed to do then?” Haseul asked, not understanding how any of that worked.

“We find the witch and we kill whoever it is to cancel out the spell.”

“And if we can’t?”

“Blood magic works, but I’ve never dealt with the mind, so it could be tricky,” Yerim suggested.

Chaewon frowned. “You’re not doing blood magic for this.”

“I’m just saying it as a last option thing.”

“It’s not even an option. You’re not doing it,” Chaewon said firmly.

Yerim sighed knowing it probably would be better if she listened to the blonde. “Fine.” 

The mind was a tricky thing. If whatever Yerim did didn’t work, it could possibly backfire and cause even more damage to both her and Sooyoung, but if they didn’t find the witch fast enough, it could also cause lasting effects on the vampire.

“So far, they have five witches on their side,” Hyunjin started talking. “Luda switched to come here and fight you guys, and from what I saw when I was in that room with Sooyoung unnie, the only one that was barely using magic was Jiyeon. If I had to guess, I would think it’s her.”

“Mind manipulation requires a hefty amount of energy, so she must have been saving up,” Yerim added on. “We went to go see the bodies Jihyo unnie found around town. There’s a witch stealing mana from other witches, basically taking their life force and killing them. It could be the same witch. It could be Jiyeon. It’s not the first time she has borrowed another’s mana.”

“So she’s a mind manipulator and a soul eater.” Chaewon threw up her hand in disbelief. 

“Um, how are we supposed to defeat that?” Jiwoo raised up her hand as if she was in school.

“We kill the bitch, that’s what. I’m going to stab her with my halberd and drag her filthy soul to hell,” Chaewon growled out. She couldn’t help all the anger that was building up and she didn’t know how to contain it.

“But first, someone still needs to talk,” Haseul said. “You guys stay here and take care of Sooyoung. The rest come with me to visit Codrin in the woods. If he doesn’t know anything, we’re going to take out their feeding rings.”

Jiwoo and Jungeun nodded and followed Haseul to the door.

“What about me? I can come along.” Yerim started to walk over.

“You’re staying here. I know how dangerous blood magic can be and I am so grateful for what you’ve done, but you still need to rest.” Haseul waited for a response and got a small nod in return. “And take care of Chaewon.”

“I will.” Yerim sighed. She wanted to do something that would take her mind off what what was going on in her head, but staying put was probably the better option.

“Codrin has always been a neutral source to all vampires, but from how he was swaying back and forth the last time we saw him, I don’t know what’s going to happen when we visit him now,” Haseul explained to the two.

“He seemed like he wanted to side with Dreamcatcher, but is also afraid of you,” Jungeun pointed out.

“I don’t use fear and manipulation to get people on my side, but if anyone gets in my way, I will use force.” At this point, Haseul didn’t care about anyone other than her clan and coven.

They got back into the stolen car as Jiwoo offered to drive again, knowing just how distracted and on edge the clan leader was. Before they knew it, they were back in the woods and stopped driving as the trees got too thick for the car to pass through.

“You two should stay here in case Codrin thinks we’re a threat to him. I’m sure he knows what has been going on and with tension building up more from both sides, he’s not going to like visitors that come in numbers.” Haseul adjusted the messenger bag that was by her side.

“And if you run into trouble?” Jungeun asked.

“I’ll be fine. I won’t be more than 20 minutes. I guess if it passes that mark, you should come find me,” Haseul said and then looked around and quirked an eyebrow. “You sense that right?”

Jungeun and Jiwoo nodded.

“You two will be fine? I should head there now before more people come asking Codrin for answers or something.”

“Yeah, we’ll handle whatever is coming if it’s a threat,” Jiwoo reassured. “Be careful.”

Haseul gave a small nod before heading off. She followed the source of the smell, which was the only real way of finding the vampire of the woods. It felt as if he was coming towards her instead though as the smell got stronger.

“You usually like when people come find you, not the other way around,” Haseul said to the trees.

“Seems like a lot of people are seeking answers these days,” a voice came from nowhere. “What do you want?”

“I’m not here to fight or anything, Codrin. Why aren’t you showing yourself?” Haseul wasn’t sure where the vampire was. The smell was everywhere.

“I like you, Haseul. Almost enough to call you a friend, but if I have to choose my life over yours. I’d save myself.”

Haseul sighed. “We’ve been over this. Dreamcatcher isn’t going to let you live with the amount of information you know. They’re playing you.”

“They might be, but right now, they can offer me more protection than you could.” The voice seemed closer, but Haseul couldn’t see him.

“So if I asked you questions, you’re not going to answer them? What happened to being neutral?”

“They didn’t give me much of a choice, Haseul.” The smell got even closer until the camouflaged vampire came out from one of the trees to reveal the tall built man.

Haseul raised her eyebrows when another Codrin came out from a different tree. Two identical vampires stood ahead to her left and right. Before Haseul could question it, the one on the right raised his arm and shot out an energy blast. The clan leader stood her ground as the magic was about to hit her but was stopped when a cat jumped out of her bag to shapeshift into Hyunjin with a forceshield in front of them.

“You really think I’d come here with no reinforcements?” Haseul’s voice was low and dangerous.


	34. FORGIVE FORGET

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating in so long but inspiration has been low and i've been working on other fics. there's an interactive loona cyberpunk au i just started over on twitter at @loonachoz for whoever's interested.

“Give it up.” Hyunjin stood there with no emotions on her face. “I know it’s you, Juyeon. Whether you’re in a different form or another, I could sense you nonetheless.”

The Codrin on the right smirked before shifting back into a tall girl with long brown hair. “You guys are so predictable. We have eyes all over town. You think you could go anywhere without us knowing?” 

“Just wanted to see which allies are now our enemies,” Haseul said looking over at Codrin who could only sigh.

“Survival of the fittest, Haseul.” Codrin shook his head.

“Even if you guys succeed in this grand plan of Dreamcatcher’s, what do you think is going to happen?” The clan leader asked. “You think Jiu’s going to listen to anything you say once she gets her hands on this place?”

Juyeon scoffed. “My coven may be helping Dreamcatcher, but allies are different from friends. They know it as much as we do.” She then turned her attention to Hyunjin. “I liked your coven you know. You guys are a force to be reckoned with, I’ll give you that, but if you think letting powerless humans be at the top of the chain is how it should be, then you’re weaker than I thought.”

“Keeping order isn’t weak, thinking you’re superior over others is.” Hyunjin crossed her arms. “In the end, that’ll be your downfall, like your injured shoulder you’ve been hiding, but I know you got that from me during the blast back in the basement.”

Juyeon growled out of anger and raised her hand, but Hyunjin threw hers up as well.

“You had four witches on your side down there, but now that you’re just facing me, you’re not getting through this shield.” Hyunjin did a few simple hand signs to strengthen the protection spell even more. “Just let us go. There’s no point in wasting energy when you know it’s useless.”

“You don’t know what I’m capable of. You haven’t seen me in years, Hyunjin.” Juyeon placed her hands by her side anyways. “I can’t wait for our reunion. It’d be like old times with the whole gang.”

Hyunjin let out a small chuckle. “Yerim may have gotten mixed up with your coven at one point, but me, I never liked you or your band of dark magic witches.”

Juyeon returned with her own laugh. “You don’t have to like us, but you can’t deny that without my coven, Hyejoo probably would have ended up dead.”

“You have no right to even speak of her,” Hyunjin sneered angrily.

“Did I hit a nerve?” Juyeon had on a little smirk.

“Enough,” Haseul interrupted. “We’re going to walk out of here and you’re not going to follow unless you want your head ripped off and sent back to your witches.” They couldn’t afford to waste time when they needed answers. They had to get back to their family.

Juyeon tilted her head to the side. “Empty threats when you know you’re running out of time.”

It took every ounce of power in Haseul and Hyunjin to not say anything, knowing the witch was talking about Sooyoung as they began to walk away. As they got closer to where Jiwoo and Jungeun were, they sensed more presenses from earlier and could only hope that the other vampires were dealing with it.

Jiwoo felt someone familiar approach as she held onto Jungeun’s hand tighter. “What are you doing here Joowon?” She pulled Jungeun behind her.

“Is that how you greet an old friend?” The blonde newcomer walked towards them with hands in the air. “I’m not here to fight.” She then looked behind her shoulder and then back to the two. “Yeonjung is here too, but she’s keeping watch.”

“And Yeri?” Jungeun questioned as she tried to step forward, but Jiwoo kept her where she was.

“Business elsewhere.” Joowon let her arms fall before crossing them.

“Last time I checked, everyone went their separate ways,” Jiwoo commented. She was tense not knowing where anyone stood in this war with Dreamcatcher.

“We did, but when we heard that you guys were now in Haseul’s clan, we found each other again to see what was going on, because damn, a lot has been going on.” The blonde stood far as they spoke, not wanting to be viewed as a threat.

Jiwoo nervously stroked Jungeun’s hand with her thumb. “And now that you found us, what do you want?”

“We’ve done many things when we were in a clan together, but that never included trying to take over this city, this world, or whatever Dreamcatcher is after.” Joowon tilted her head. “Maybe we’re not exactly friends or even allies, but we know that no good is going to come with someone like Jiu in power. I’ve never met the bitch, but from how I now know she’s the one that sired you two and the stories I’ve heard, there’s not a chance I’m letting her decide my fate.”

“So what? You came to check up on us after all these years because you’re afraid to die? You wanted to see how Haseul’s clan is to know if they’re capable of taking on Dreamcatcher?” Jiwoo accused.

Joowon shook her head. “It’s been so long. We were children back then. I’ve been talking to Yeonjung and Yeri again, and we’re all so different now.”

“You left her there to die!” Jiwoo yelled, not caring about what the other vampire had to say.

“I’m sorry okay?” Joowon shouted back and then looked at Jungeun who was still behind Jiwoo’s back. “Jungeun, I’m sorry.”

The slightly smaller vampire bit her bottom lip before whispering out, “I forgive you.”

“What?” Jiwoo turned around to face Jungeun.

The brunette held onto Jiwoo’s hand tighter. “This is my decision okay? Joowon is right. It’s been so long and we never got the closure we needed and I need this.”

Jungeun stepped forward. “I forgive you and whoever else wants forgiveness because I need peace of mind and if you need it too, I’m giving it to you.” She then looked at Jiwoo again. “We can’t keep in all of this anger forever. We have to let it go.”

“And I really am sorry.” Joowon took a step towards them too.

“Back off,” Jiwoo sneered. “Jungeun may have forgiven you and you may be sorry, but you’re still not going anywhere near her.”

The blonde sighed. “We just came here because things have been turning to shit. Vampires are getting killed left and right by Dreamcatcher and any of us could be next. I didn’t want to die knowing you two hated me without trying to explain things.” Joowon tried to choose her words carefully. “There’s no excuse for what I did back then. I didn’t even regret it after, but being alive for so long, being alone for so long, you start to think about things, and I thought about everything. And I could only say sorry.”

Jiwoo exhaled and gritted her teeth. “Yeonjung not coming to say hi?”

“I’m afraid not. There were some vampires lurking around the area with hunters. She went to go take care of them. We’re all in different clans now, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but you’re not alone in this fight against Dreamcatcher.” Joowon looked into the woods. “Your clan is coming. I should get going now.”

“Are you guys okay?” The two turned around to see Haseul and Hyunjin.

“Seems like everyone’s past is just catching up to them.” Jiwoo looked to where Joowon just stood.

“Did you get anything?” Jungeun asked already knowing the answer from the annoyed look on Hyunjin’s face.

“No, one of the other witches was there,” Haseul spoke. “They have eyes everywhere, so as much as I’d like to wreck all of their feeding rings, it’s probably not the best idea.”

“Magic.” They all turned their attention to Hyunjin. “I know we should be saving up on mana and the locator spell didn’t exactly work out like how it did last time, but I think have an idea.”


	35. 1875

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's almost been a month since i last updated and it was bumming me out, but i just haven't been in the mood and lacked motivation. i did start a new cyberpunk interactive au over on twitter @loonachoz though, it's also being cross posted on here for whoever wants to check that out. thanks to those who have stuck around and to the new readers~

1875

 

It’s hard to tell who’s your friend in a life where immortality makes things seem so trivial. People were just another replaceable piece in this long game of hide and seek. The hunt for blood was all that was needed to keep a clan together, but when limits were tested, friends can suddenly turn into enemies or strangers at best.

Jiwoo ran as fast as she could through dense trees with hunters chasing after her.

“I don’t know if it was such a good idea to split!” Yeri yelled out, glancing back to see flashlights in the distance.

“Well, we didn’t have a choice did we?” Jiwoo hated that she got separated from Jungeun, but she had to pray that the vampire could take care of herself.

Their other clan member, Yeonjung, was a little ahead as they kept their pace. “Hurry!” She shouted back at them.

Jiwoo ran faster until the trees thinned out and they came into a clearing where there was a small town.

“Guys!” They heard another voice and turned around to see Joowon running towards them.

“Where’s Jungeun?” Jiwoo asked immediately, not seeing the other girl.

Joowon shook her head. “There were too many of them.”

“What do you mean?” Jiwoo took a step forward to the blonde. “She was with you.”

“She was and then dogs started coming,” Joowon explained.

Jiwoo scoffed and started to head back into the trees, but was grabbed back.

“What are you doing?” Yeri asked with a grip on Jiwoo’s arm.

“What does it look like? I’m going back in for Jungeun ‘cause someone just left her there,” Jiwoo growled out and yanked her arm away.

“It’s too dangerous.” Yeri stepped in front of Jiwoo.

“Then stay. Run and find some place to hide, but don’t stop me.” Jiwoo pushed passed Yeri and ran towards the flashlights.

Jiwoo furrowed her eyebrows as the scent of Jungeun got stronger deeper in the woods, knowing that the other vampire was injured with the amount of blood she was smelling. She paused shortly and hid behind a tree as she came across a group of hunters in a circle. A scream was heard and Jiwoo had to stop herself from running forward when she made out a figure, curled up on the ground, surrounded by the humans.

Prepping herself up for the stupid thing she was going to do, Jiwoo bared her fangs and sprinted towards the group. She grabbed the first man behind the neck and threw him off to the side, causing his body to hit a tree with a sickening crunch. Wasting no time, she yanked another by the arm and used him as a human shield as his fellow teammates shot at her. She pushed him forward until he couldn’t walk anymore and tossed him down. An arrow came for her head, but she was quick enough to move out of the way and then grabbed another midair. She threw the arrow back, hitting a woman in the chest, and then rolled forward to take her weapon. Jiwoo aimed it up, but quickly dropped the crossbow when something took a hold of her arm.

Jiwoo screamed out in pain and used her left hand to gouge at the eyes of a werewolf that had its teeth locked onto her. The wolf yelped and threw Jiwoo against a tree before charging at her. Jiwoo stood her ground with her arm bleeding and waited for the wolf to get close before snarling in anger and jumping at the enemy. They collided together, rolling on the ground as the wolf got the upper hand and pinned Jiwoo to the ground. She quickly used both her arms to shove at the large wolf to try to move to the side to create space and pulled out a knife from her waistband and slashed upward. Not expecting the hidden weapon, the wolf jumped off as its front leg bleed from the attack.

Getting up to her feet, Jiwoo threw the knife at the wolf, but missed as it moved out of the way. Jiwoo was going to go for the crossbow again when she felt pain in her left shoulder. She turned around to see another hunter and ran for him, tackling him down and biting his neck, ripping off flesh as he screamed in terror. She stood back up to see the wolf growling at her. She saw it eye Jungeun, who was laying on the ground with multiple arrows sticking out of her body and bite wounds. Jiwoo ran for the brunette as the wolf did the same. They collided again, but this time, Jiwoo was able to sink her fangs into the wolf’s leg. It tried to shake her off, but she held on, using her sharp nails to climb up onto the wolf’s back and then snapping its neck. The wolf went limp as Jiwoo jumped down to the ground and made her way to the other vampire.

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo breathed out and fell to her knees.

“Jiwoo,” the brunette managed to say with blood spilling out from between her lips.

The redhead whipped her head up at the sound of unfamiliar voices. “You have to stay quiet, but I need to pull these out.” She gripped onto an arrow as Jungeun nodded. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and yanked the sharp object out from the brunette’s stomach.

Jungeun let out a small cry, but stayed quiet for the most part.

Jiwoo looked up again to see if anyone was coming before taking a hold of another arrow and pulling it out, and then another, and another. After five, Jungeun laid there bleeding out, but no longer had arrows in her.

Carrying Jungeun up into her arms, Jiwoo started to run back out of the trees. She forgot about the arrow in her own shoulder until it started to hurt again as she readjusted Jungeun to get a better hold on her.

The voices got louder and Jiwoo could smell the scent of other werewolves. She couldn’t think about anything other than wanting to live to see another day with Jungeun.

Jiwoo ran and ran until she saw the town again and quickly sprinted between two houses. She crouched down with Jungeun in her arms and held her close.

“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay,” Jiwoo repeated over and over. Biting her own wrist, she held it above Jungeun’s mouth for her to drink.

Jiwoo shot her head up when she smelled familiar scents. A second or two later, the three members of her clan showed up.

“Jungeun,” Joowon called out and ran towards the two with the others.

“Don’t,” Jiwoo growled and pulled Jungeun even closer to herself.

Joowon paused in her step. “Jiwoo, come on,” she pleaded.

Jiwoo reached a hand behind her shoulder and gripped the arrow that was still there. The angle was awkward and made it more painful as she pulled it out. Throwing the object to the ground, she slowly stood up and carried Jungeun with her. She started to walk as the clan followed her, not saying a word.

“Is your silence a sign of apology or do you guys feel like you did the right thing?” Jiwoo felt her feet heavy from the poison in the arrows, but she didn’t allow herself to slow down.

“Jiwoo,” Yeri started. “There were so many of them back there. We thought Jungeun either would have made it out on her own or she was a goner.”

“Yeah? Thought she’d make it out on her own?” Jiwoo scoffed. “Tell me, Joowon, was that before or after she was shot a bunch of times and thrown around like a rag doll by dogs?” She hissed out.

Joowon didn’t answer right away. “Look, if I stayed, those dogs would have torn me into pieces too,” she tried to defend herself.

“So you just left her there? Would you have left any of us there?” Jiwoo questioned angrily, and started to feel lightheaded between the stress and wound. “I guess being a clan doesn’t mean anything.”

“Would you have stayed for me, for any of us, Jiwoo?” Joowon raised her voice. “Would you have died with us knowing Jungeun was waiting for you?”

Jiwoo turned to look at the blonde. “Like I said, I guess being a clan doesn’t mean anything.” She couldn’t think straight. At that moment, the only thing in her mind was to get Jungeun to safety.

“You don’t mean that, Jiwoo.” Yeonjung caught up to the redhead’s walking speed.

“You all left. None of you even came back for us. You all waited until you knew we were out of danger.” Jiwoo felt like crying as she bit her lip. “But Joowon is right, we are vampires, selfish creatures. Let’s be real, none of us would have sacrificed ourselves for each other. We were just here for a good time and that good time is over.”

“Jiwoo, we can talk about this later, but just let us help you, let us help her,” Yeri said softly, gesturing to an almost unconscious Jungeun.

“I don’t need your help.”

“What are you going to do then?” Yeri’s tone became a little angry at her stubborn clan member.

“I’ll go to Sunmi.”

Yeonjung grabbed at Jiwoo’s arm. “You can’t trust her.” 

Jiwoo pulled away and shook her head. “I can’t trust anyone, but at least I know if I do a favor for her, she will help me, and that means we’d be even.”

Joowon stopped walking and folded her arms. “If she doesn’t want our help, then let’s just go,” she said in annoyance at how useless this was.

“That’s right. Just leave. Sooner or later we all would have left.” Jiwoo stopped in her tracks too, facing the group. “This isn’t the first time any of us put ourselves before the clan and it won’t be the last. I think it’s time to stop pretending like we care when it reality, we’re just scared of being alone.”

Yeri dropped her head in disappointment. “I guess newborn friends are just that. Lost immortals who found each other in a time of need, but you’re right, maybe we don’t need each other anymore. Maybe we haven’t needed each other for a while now.”

“Then I guess this is goodbye.” The redhead turned around without staying to hear what any of them had to say. When no one stopped her, she kept on walking until she couldn’t smell their scent anymore.

Jiwoo knew that no matter what, her and Jungeun would have went their separate ways in the future, but she never thought it’d be like this. They were the first friends besides Jungeun she has ever had, even when she was a human, her father didn’t allow her to socialize with many people. She once thought her clan were different because they all shared the same kind of fate, but in the end, the only person she has ever truly cared for was Jungeun.


	36. RISKS

Yerim rubbed her hands together and then pinched her arm to feel the sensation of being awake. She had to make sure everything that was happening right now was real. She couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

“You’ve been distracted,” Chaewon pointed out as she sat on the couch.

Vivi and Jinsol had taken Sooyoung into the restroom at the back of the shop to clean her up, leaving the two witches by themselves.

Yerim silently cursed at herself knowing that the small blonde knew something was up with her. “It’s just with everything that’s happening, it’s hard focusing on one thing.”

Chaewon sighed and tapped her fingers on her thigh. “How long has this been going on?”

Yerim looked up confused. “How long has what’s been happening?”

“Oh, come on, Yerim. I know the signs of a witch who’s trying to fight against themselves because of the dark arts.” Chaewon stood up and went over to sit on one of the stools by the counter where Yerim was at. “How long have you been playing with blood magic? Well before the age of when a witch should right? There’s a reason why there’s a recommended age and I tried to get you to slow down, but you didn’t listen.”

Yerim shook her head and let out a bitter scoff. “What did you want me to do then? Something was killing Hyejoo and I had to stop it at any cost.” She would have done it all over again if she had to. 

“But you didn’t stop using after did you?” Chaewon voice slightly raised, but then her expression softened. “Don’t try to hide things from me because I know you. I tried to give you space so you’d come to me or any of us on your own, but there’s a limit and you’re still trying to deal with things on your own.”

Yerim look in a shaky breath as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “I need to go see Choerry.”

Chaewon slammed her fist down on the counter in anger. “Did you not hear anything I just said? You don’t even know if you could find her again or, or,” she stammered out, “or if you’ll be stuck in some dimension with no other way back.”

“Jiyeon’s coven is powerful and have only gained more strength since the last time we’ve seen them. If I could ask Choerry to let me borrow her powers, maybe we could even out the playing field with how many witches they have on their side,” Yerim tried to reason. “This is more than just about me, Chaewon. This is our family and our city that we’re talking about.”

“No matter what I say, nothing could stop you anyways right?” Chaewon rested her elbows on the counter and placed her head in her hands in frustration before looking up again. “I can spot you.”

“I want Hyunjin here too.” Yerim was starting to get nervous at what she was going to do. It’s been a long time since she has been able to use this kind of magic.

“She’s not going to like it.”

“She’ll just have to deal with it.”

“She’ll have to deal with what?” They both whipped their heads around to see Vivi standing there with a change of clean clothes.

“The connection I have with Choerry is back. It’s more faint than how it used to be, but it’s there. I could feel it.” Yerim quickly flipped through a book. “I need to find her and I need to do it soon before it fades.” She pointed down to one of the pages she stopped at. “There are hundreds and thousands of versions of ourselves from different dimensions. What Choerry and I have shouldn’t even exist because realities aren’t supposed to bleed together, but somehow we found each other and we made it work. She helped me keep Hyejoo alive and she might be able to do it again.”

“I thought this was about evening the playing field with Jiyeon’s coven and Dreamcatcher’s clan.” Chaewon crossed her arms, not liking where this was going.

“This is, but think about Chaewon. We could have more fire power against them and get Hyejoo back at the same time.” Yerim started to flip through more pages when Chaewon’s hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Yerim looked up in confusion.

“The last time we asked Choerry for help, you almost died. Do you not remember that?” Chaewon voice was so calm that Yerim knew the blonde was angry.

Yerim pulled her arm away. “The last time I asked Choerry for help, we saved Hyejoo.”

Chaewon exhaled loudly and closed her eyes.

“I wasn’t there when those things went down when you were younger, but from what Chaewon told me back then, it seemed like one hell of a risk,” Vivi commented as she took a seat on the couch. “But if I had the potential power to save my family, nothing would be able to stop me. And I know that’s how you are, and all I could say is that, you have people who love you, Yerim. At least remember that.”

Yerim reached back out and took a hold of Chaewon’s hand. “I know.”

“Then please reconsider,” Chaewon pleaded.

“We have tried everything we could, Chaewon. I know we took Hyejoo to Jeju for precaution, but that was weeks ago. It’s almost been a month and she’s not back.” Yerim felt tears well up as she quickly used her free hand to wipe at the corner of her eyes. “I just want her home.”

“Me too.” Chaewon ran her thumb over the back of Yerim’s hand before bringing it up to her lips and kissing it. “I can connect to your mind while you go see Choerry. Hyunjin will be the link that keeps us grounded if we end up wandering too far.”

Yerim gave her a small thankful smile.

Vivi stood up and walked to the back as Jinsol appeared with her arm around Sooyoung’s waist. The pink haired vampire went to the other side of Sooyoung to help the woman walk to the couch and sat her down. There was no longer blood on the tall woman, but instead of looking scared, she just looked lost.

“Sooyoung,” Vivi started and tucked fallen hair behind the vampire’s ear.

The woman didn’t respond. She fiddled with her daywalker ring, trying to take it off.

“You need to keep that on, love.” Jinsol gently grabbed her hand and adjusted the ring back on. 

Sooyoung let the blonde do whatever as she sat there stoically, staring off at nothing.

Yerim looked to the door and recited a few words under her breath.

Not a second later, the front door opened up to reveal the rest of their group.

“Codrin’s place was a bust.” Haseul entered with Hyunjin in cat form on her shoulder. “I was going to go to the feeding rings, but I guess that would be stupid on my part considering how they really have eyes everywhere around the city now.” She walked over to the couch and bent down to softly kiss Sooyoung on top of the head before giving the same greeting to Jinsol and Vivi. Taking a seat next to Jinsol, she placed her arm over the blonde’s shoulder and crossed her leg.

Hyunjin jumped off of Haseul’s shoulder and turned back to her human form. Stretching out, she sat down on the stool next to Chaewon. “Do you have any food?” She asked as her stomach growled slightly.

“There’s sandwich ingredients in the mini fridge.” Yerim nodded towards the back.

“Great.” Hyunjin stood back up and walked out of the main lobby to the break room area.

“Our old clan is back,” Jiwoo spoke up from the other couch across from the other vampires. “They don’t seem to have a side, but they are against whatever Dreamcatcher is doing.”

“So we have more allies to fight against them,” Jinsol concluded.

Jungeun straightened up in her seat as Jiwoo leaned on her shoulder. “Not exactly allies. It’s more like, we stay out of their way, they stay out of our way while we all try to keep Dreamcatcher from killing us all. Pretty sure a lot of them hate your guys clan as much as they hate Dreamcatcher, but at least Haseul isn’t trying to destroy the city.”

“You mean our clan,” Haseul corrected. “They hate our clan, and that’s fine. Being hated can be fun.”

Jinsol shook her head at what Haseul just said. The clan leader was usually calm and composed, but her more snarky sarcastic side came out when she was under stress. The blonde rested her hand on Haseul’s thigh to get her to relax from how tense she was.

“You think I could get a read off of the dead bodies that’s been popping up around town?” Hyunjin asked with her mouth half full as she came back into the room with a sandwich in one hand and a plate in another. She sat back down on the stool and slid the plate over to Yerim who took the other sandwich that was on there thankfully.

“That dead woman we went to go see, did you get anything off of her?” Yerim bit into the sandwich and savored the taste of real food. It’s been a long time since she has had a proper meal.

“Not really. I think maybe if there’s a fresh body, I might be able to trace some things back though” Hyunjin took another big bite and handed Yerim a napkin, watching as the younger woman devoured the sandwich, not being aware of how hungry she was. “Please slow down. I don’t want you choking on that.” Hyunjin pointed to the water bottle on the counter. Yerim nodded and took a gulp of it before passing it to the taller woman.

“We can go later, but Yerim here wants to visit Choerry first,” Chaewon said, nonchalantly.

Hyunjin coughed as a bit of water went down the wrong pipe. “Wait, what?” She shot a glare at the purple haired witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates will probably come slower, but i plan on finishing this no matter what... delayed but someday


	37. CHOERRY

“You just need to be the anchor while I go see Choerry. I need to get to her before the connection fades,” Yerim explained to Hyunjin in simple terms. “We need all the help we could get.”

“And you’re okay with this?” Hyunjin asked, turning to Chaewon.

Chaewon threw her hands up in defense. “I’m not okay with anything, but if this is what Yerim wants, you think any of us will be able to stop her? You think I didn’t try to talk her out of it?”

Hyunjin sighed and rubbed her temples. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to kill two birds with one stone, because I know you’re thinking about Hyejoo right now.”

“Do you have any better ideas? I called Heejin up earlier and Hyejoo isn’t doing so well. If I could help save the city and one of my best friends, I’m willing to take that risk.” Yerim placed a small glass bottle with purple liquid on the counter. “This gives me 5 minutes. If I somehow get stuck there, this potion automatically teleports me back to this dimension.”

“You say it like it’s a walk in the park,” Hyunjin scoffed while drumming her fingers on the counter.

“Would you just trust me?” Yerim walked over to the open space on the ground where they had saved Vivi before.

“I always trust you, Yerim, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t worry.” Hyunjin grabbed Yerim’s arm to get the witch to look at her. “I just— just be careful okay?” She bit her lip, hating how she was horrible with words and expressing herself.

Yerim nodded and went back to placing candles on the ground as her coven members helped as well.

“Is there anything we could do?” Haseul asked from her seat.

Yerim shook her head. “No, just make sure Sooyoung unnie is comfortable.” She looked over to the dark haired vampire who was still staring off, not paying any attention to what was going on.

All three witches sat down in the circle surrounded by lit candles and salt. They were close enough so that their knees touched as Hyunjin recited some words to create a boundary spell to keep nothing from leaving or enter the space they were in.

“Are you ready?” Hyunjin asked as she felt the spell get stronger by the second until it was complete.

“Yeah,” Yerim responded, adjusting the mirror in the middle of them so that it was facing her. She picked up the potion and took the cap off. “Cheers.” Raising it up to the group, she then quickly drank the bitter concoction, frowning at the taste.

Chaewon took in a deep breath and placed both her hands on the side of Yerim’s head so that her fingers were lightly on the purple haired witch’s temples. The blonde chanted a phrase over and over as the flames on the candles started to flicker. Less than a minute later, Yerim teleported into the mirror and before Chaewon could collapse to the ground, Hyunjin took a hold of her, carefully placing the blonde’s head in her lap.

Hyunjin was saying a different spell under her breath the whole time, now with her hand on Chaewon’s head, brushing hair out of her face. She opened her eyes after a moment, pulling the blonde closer. “Please be careful,” she whispered out to her members.

Yerim was now in a different dimension while Chaewon’s mind connected to hers in case she needed guidance. Hyunjin was the link to both of them in the real world that kept them from wandering too far.

One moment, Yerim was sitting on the floor of her shop, and the next, she was sitting in an empty warehouse in a world she hasn’t seen in ages. She quickly got up and looked around, but stopped in her movements when she heard a gun being cocked back. Yerim raised her arms and turned around to see a blonde woman with a futuristic looking gun pointed up at her.

“Choerry?” The woman asked in confusion.

“Jungeun unnie?” Yerim questioned back after realizing that the blonde looked exactly like the vampire, but with a different hair color.

The woman raised her eyebrows and took a step forward, her gun still tightly gripped in her hand. “If you’re not Choerry, then you must be Yerim.” The blonde lowered her gun and placed it in her holster. “I don’t know who this Jungeun is, but my name is Lip.”

Yerim nodded and then got straight to the point. “Where is she?” She looked at the watch on her wrist, only seconds had passed although she knew it had been a few minutes in this dimension since time worked differently.

Lip nodded her head behind Yerim as the witch turned around to come face to face with a woman who just entered the room and looked exactly like her, but with darker hair.

“Yerim,” the woman whispered and then quickly walked over.

They stared at each other for a bit, studying the changes over the years before giving each other a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you so much, Choerry,” Yerim’s voice was muffled in the other woman’s shoulder.

After a few moments, they pulled apart and couldn’t help but stare at each other again.

“I missed you too, and I see you’ve met Lip.” Choerry glanced over at the blonde who was tying her hair up into a high ponytail. 

“I’ve actually met her already, but in my dimension. Her name is Jungeun, but she has brown hair and is a vampire. She’s part of Haseul’s clan now.” Yerim was now studying Lip, concluding that both counterparts were nothing alike with the way the blonde carried herself. Her Jungeun looked a bit softer compared to this confident looking woman.

Choerry winced at the mention of the clan leader’s name. “Yerim,” she started.

Yerim turned back, not being able to read Choerry’s facial expression. “Yeah?”

“Yves is dead,” Choerry quietly said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“No. How?” Yerim felt her legs go weak as she thought of her own Yves, Sooyoung.

“Jinsoul was in trouble. Yves got her out, but it doesn’t even matter, because we have no idea where Jinsoul even is right now,” Choerry explained, walking over to a couch at the side of the warehouse as Yerim and Lip followed.

Choerry and Yerim took a seat on one couch while Lip sat down on another across from it.

Yerim has known Yves and Jinsoul in this dimension when she was a kid before meeting their other selves in her own world. It was odd to see them young when the vampires she knew didn’t age.

“Sooyoung unnie isn’t doing so good,” Yerim confessed.

Choerry let out a small cry, but quickly composed herself. “Every day I think about Yves, I feel blessed that at least Sooyoung is still alive, although I never got to know her well. And now, just hearing this?” She shook her head.

“That’s why I came here. Things aren’t looking too good in my world either. I did some blood magic to get Vivi unnie out of a predicament and that’s how I found you again. And I’m sorry that it has to be under these circumstances, but I need your help.”

Choerry nodded and leaned back in her seat. “I would do anything to help you.”

“It’s not just that either, it’s Hyejoo again.”

“The demons that were attached to her are back? I thought we got rid of those things.”

“I did too and I’m not entirely sure, but she’s been feeling weak and sick again lately so we took her back to Jeju.” Yerim started to feel worried, thinking about her friend.

“The amulet I gave her, does she still have it?”

Yerim nodded.

“Once you go back to your own world, I’ll be able to see if I could do anything, but right now, while you’re here, I can’t really tell if our connection will disappear again or not.”

“I’m sorry, by the way.” Yerim ran a hand through her hair. “It was my fault that our connection was severed.”

“You don’t have to explain now. We have way too much catching up to do and I know you have to get back to your home.” Choerry was about to say more when the door to the warehouse opened to reveal two more people.

Yerim held her breath.

“Kahei, Olivia, you guys said you’d be out for a little longer.” Choerry got up from her seat as Yerim did the same.

“Vivi unnie,” Yerim mumbled under her breath.

“Yerim, this is Kahei. Kahei, this is Yerim,” Choerry introduced.

“This is so weird. You’re Vivi unnie in my dimension.” Yerim stared at the woman with red hair and bangs.

Choerry tilted her head. “We’re meeting the same people.”

“It seems so.” Yerim then turned her attention to the other newcomer. “Odd how things work out.”

“Don’t I get a hug?” The tall girl with long dark wavy hair asked as Yerim continued staring.

Yerim couldn’t help but tear up, seeing the girl that looked exactly like Hyejoo in front of her. She quickly threw herself at Olivia and hugged her tightly.

“I wish this hug was for me, but I know it’s more for Hyejoo,” Olivia said with a smile.

“I’m sorry, but I really did miss you too.” Yerim let go of the hug, but kept her hand on the girl’s arm.

“I’m just joking. You can use me as your Hyejoo if you’d like.” Olivia smiled again, but then her expression turned a little sad afterwards. “Is it okay if you give Sooyoung a hug for me when you go back?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Yerim said and let it hit her again that the Sooyoung of this dimension was no longer alive. She then looked at her watch. “I have to go.”

Their goodbyes were short. Their reunion bittersweet.

Nothing about the situation was ideal. They all haven’t seen each other in years, but had to keep it a short visit. It was always short. A stay in a different dimension never lasted long because realms aren’t even supposed to clash, yet Yerim and Choerry found a way into each other’s worlds.


	38. INTERCEPTION

“Come on, any second now,” Hyunjin muttered while staring at the mirror with Chaewon still in her arms. She checked the time on her phone again and counted down in her head.

As the time hit exactly 5 minutes, Chaewon shot up gasping for air and out through the mirror came Yerim as she flew against the barrier that kept them in the circle. Her body hit the invisible force shield before crashing down to the ground.

Hyunjin rushed over for Yerim when Chaewon’s voice rang out. “Don’t!” She shouted, still in between breaths. “Hyunjin, get out of the circle.”

But it was already too late.

Yerim’s head snapped up, the ring around her left iris glowed purple when Choerry had hers on the right. The witch before them was Yerim, but her facial expressions looked nothing like her. The imposter threw her hand out causing Hyunjin to stop where she was, hands going up to her throat as she found it hard to breathe. Hyunjin felt her body drop as she curled into a fetal position, every inch of her body felt like it was being pulled apart.

Chaewon made a few hand signs before throwing it out and keeping her hands up to fight against a magic she wasn’t familiar with. The blonde started chanting in a tongue the vampires in the room has never heard. “Hyunjin!” She called out and continued with the spell.

The witch on the ground grunted from pain, but heard Chaewon trying to reach her. She gathered all of her strength to repeat what Chaewon was saying and kept going until the volume of their voices were even.

The vampires stood right outside of the circle, watching helplessly. As much as they wanted to get them all out of there, they knew they couldn’t break the circle. There was no way of telling what they would be releasing into their world.

Chaewon crawled over with one hand up and using the other to grab onto Hyunjin’s as they kept the spell up.

The purple haired witch’s eyes flickered between her normal color and the other of the imposter.

“I can get her back!” Hyunjin shouted through gritted teeth and gestured the sign for blood magic.

“Hyunjin, no.” Chaewon warned as they watched Yerim fight against whoever had a hold of her body and mind.

“Please,” Hyunjin begged. She has already been into the dark arts, but blood magic was a portion of it that Chaewon and Yerim has always tried to keep away from the coven.

Chaewon hesitantly nodded as Hyunjin raised her hand up to her mouth and bit the fleshy part until it bled. Hyunjin let out a cry as she curled up again, but started to recite a spell under her breath as the blood that dripped to the ground collected together and made its way to Yerim. The blood wrapped itself around Yerim’s wrists until the witch couldn’t hold her arms up anymore. Yerim and Hyunjin screamed in pain for a few seconds until everything stopped and the purple haired witch collapsed onto the ground next to Hyunjin.

Chaewon held her breath and got in between her two coven members. She could hear Yerim mumbling something.

“October 19th, November 15th, November 19th, November 13th.” Chaewon heard Yerim mutter. She reached out a hand when the woman pulled away, backing up against the invisible barrier.

“Don’t touch me!” Yerim shouted and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Not yet,” she said quietly in a shaky voice.

Chaewon pulled Hyunjin onto her lap, much like what Hyunjin did for her earlier.

The boundary spell was down by now with all the candles out and salt circle broken.

“First aid kit please,” Chaewon’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the vampires could hear as Jungeun rushed to the restroom to get the supplies. She kept her eyes on Yerim as the witch tried to collect herself. “You should have told me, Yerim,” she said in a soft tone.

Yerim looked up with tears in her eyes and hands shaking. “I should tell you many things, but I don’t tell you anything. You can’t do anything. Oh god, Hyunjin.” She let out a cry seeing the witch on Chaewon’s lap. She was pale, but looked okay for the most part. “I didn’t mean to, oh god, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she rambled, her voice almost hysterical.

Hyunjin slowly sat up with the help of Chaewon. “Yerim, I’m fine. That wasn’t you. I’m okay,” she tried to reassure. “Please just come here.” Hyunjin had her arms open.

The purple haired witch looked at her hesitantly before making her way over. She allowed her coven members to pull her into their embrace as she let sobs wracked her body. It didn’t take long for the exhaustion to take over as Yerim passed out in their arms. Chaewon carried her over to one of the couches and pulled a blanket up before kissing the witch’s forehead.

“Is someone going to explain what that was?” Haseul asked, trying not to sound scared, but whatever had happened to Yerim scared her more than she’d like.

Chaewon sighed. “20 is the recommended age to use blood magic, but blood magic isn’t recommended to be used at all. Yerim started when she was just a teen.” She glanced over at Hyunjin who was getting her hand bandaged up at the counter by Vivi. “You’re using your own blood to conjure up dark magic, and that does something to your mind.”

“Jiyeon’s clan uses blood magic,” Jiwoo pointed out.

“They do, but that’s the thing. When you use blood magic, you either fight against what it does to you like Yerim or you let it consume you, like Jiyeon’s clan,” Chaewon explained. “I don’t know if they were just shitty people to begin with, or if their personalities have been altered because of the constant use of blood magic, but the power it gives a user is such a high that it’s hard to stop, but once you do stop, it’s hard to get rid of it completely. So you just keep going to chase that high, never letting the comedown affect you fully.”

“So what we saw now was that magic trying to come through?” Jiwoo spoke again, not having much knowledge about witches.

“I don’t know what we just saw,” Chaewon honestly said. “Her left eye glowed purple when Choerry has hers on the right. Sometimes Yerim is able to channel Choerry’s power through that, so it seems like another version of Yerim from a different dimension was trying to break through or something. The magic that you just witnessed right now, I’ve never seen before. I don’t think it even exists in this world. I think whatever is happening to her now is a combination of all of her powers.”

“No witch should be able to have that much power, but Yerim started young and mostly on her own.” Hyunjin continued, running her fingers over the bandage on her right hand. “She’s already from a line of powerful witches, but even if she wasn’t, I still feel like she could have found this power on her own with the way she’s always pushing herself anyways.”

“Then we keep her from using blood magic,” Haseul concluded. “She wasn’t even using it just now though.”

“Like I said, it’s hard to get rid of the effects completely even after a witch stops using it. She also hasn’t used her dimension jumping power in ages, so those things factored in, it probably got jumbled up and messed up somewhere,” Chaewon tried to reason, but she wasn’t exactly sure what had happened.

Hyunjin unconsciously rubbed at her right knee again, feeling it ache after being in the circle. “Do you think whatever she did work?”

Chaewon shrugged. “She was there with Choerry, I felt that at least, but we can’t be sure of anything until she tells us herself.” She then turned to Hyunjin. “You should rest.”

“I’m fine.” The taller witch waved her off. “I’m going to give Jihyo unnie a call and see if there has been any reports of dead bodies popping up. The whole useless Codrin thing annoyed me, so I need to do something.” Hyunjin slowly got off the stool and went to the table by the couches to get her phone. The limp in her walk was more apparent than usual.

“Dead bodies popping up.” They all turned their heads to look at Sooyoung. “Dead bodies popping up,” the tall vampire repeated.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Jinsol said softly and held onto Sooyoung’s hand.

Sooyoung pulled away and stood up from the couch abruptly. She tried to make a run for the exit when Chaewon jumped off of the stool and got in front of her.

“Mama,” she tried to get Sooyoung to listen to her.

“You don’t understand,” Sooyoung mumbled. “I need to leave. I need to leave.”

“I’m not a mind manipulator, but I can at least help ease it if you’d let me.” Chaewon reached out, but her arm was quickly swept to the side as Sooyoung went for the exit again. The blonde’s hand went into her pouch to pull something else and blew the powdery substance in front of Sooyoung. “Shatali allamit,” Chaewon spoke in a quiet, but firm voice.

Sooyoung fell to her knees, but Vivi caught her before she could fall.

“Sleeping spell. It’ll keep her down for a bit.” Chaewon tried to keep her voice steady, but it hurt to see her mother not well.

“Jinsol,” Haseul called out as the taller blonde vampire left the room and went into the back of the shop.

Vivi caught Haseul’s eye. “Go.”

Haseul nodded and went after Jinsol.

The tall blonde had her back towards Haseul as she entered. “Hey.” She took another step forward until she was directly behind Jinsol and wrapped her arms around her.

Jinsol relaxed in the embrace for a second before turning around to face the smaller vampire.

“We’re going to be okay. We’ll get her back,” Haseul reassured even with some doubts that lingered in her mind.

“Will we?” Jinsol bit her lip and allowed Haseul to drag her over to a small table in the break room.

Haseul sat down with Jinsol next to her. “In terms of vampires, I don’t think we’ve been alive that long compared to how it was back then. In terms of clans, we also haven’t been together as long as so many others, but what we have, no one could compare to us.” Haseul sighed when Jinsol continued to not look at her. She reached for Jinsol’s hand and held it in her own. “Some people have called us weak for letting our feelings cloud our judgements, but I’m pretty sure those people are regretting their words when we put them down in their graves. Some people call us ruthless, but I’ve only done the things I’ve done in order to protect my family. And if I need to be ruthless again, for Sooyoung, for all of us, I’d gladly kill every single last one of them.”


	39. US OR THEM

“It’s just been some endless cycle of Jiu coming after us and I know it won’t end until one of our clans are dead.” Jinsol dug her fingernails into her palm until blood surfaced. “I know you’d go every length to get rid of them, but sometimes I can’t help but think this is my fault.”

Haseul furrowed her eyebrows. “There was no way you could have known she’d turn out like this, and no matter what path you took, you and Sooyoung would have had to leave that clan sooner or later, and be glad you left when you did, because then we wouldn’t have Chaewon or any of this.”

“I know. My mind is just so conflicted and I just want to talk to Sooyoung about this, but I can’t even do that.” Jinsol looked up to Haseul. “What if we can’t get her back?”

“I know you’re scared and so am I, and everyone else, but you can’t think like that. We’ll get her back.” Haseul raised a hand to Jinsol’s cheek and tucked blonde hair behind her ear. “Vivi brought back jars of blood. You should eat.”

“I have too much pent up emotions. I want to feed.” Jinsol’s fangs started to show.

Haseul glanced back to the lobby of the shop. Her hearing picking up conversations. “Hyunjin just got off the phone with Jihyo. Apparently no one notified her of a body that’s been out for at least half an hour. You want to come with me to check it out?”

Jinsol nodded and stood up as they both walked back out.

“The dead are popping up closer to the area. Don’t know if the body is still good for me to trace back the magic though, but we can try,” they heard Hyunjin say.

“We can go back out and check. Hyunjin and Jinsol with me. Everyone else eat, rest, take care of each other,” Haseul instructed and didn’t wait for a second opinion as she walked out of the shop.

“Jihyo unnie isn’t going to be there this time. She has some errands to run, but her pack is watching the place so no one gets to the body. The only ones getting through are us.” Hyunjin tried keeping up the pace, but was lagging a bit behind, her leg aching more than she’d like to admit.

They turned a corner after going down several blocks, the smell of a fresh corpse already reaching the noses of the vampires.

“They really just left the body out in the open like this thinking no one would stumble upon it?” Hyunjin mumbled, walking to a man laid sprawled out next to a dumpster. She bent down and recited a few words. “Shit,” she hissed out and backed up a bit with her hand to her head. Hyunjin looked up at the vampires. “The trace is weak, but I got a hit. It stopped though and zapped the hell out of me with some blocking spell.”

“Where does it lead to?” Haseul asked, helping Hyunjin up to her feet.

“You said you don’t want to go to the feeding rings anymore, but I think we’re going to have to. This feels a bit like Jiyeon’s magic, but I’m not sure. It feels like her, but it’s different from what I remembered.”

“I’m no expert at magic, but you haven’t seen that coven in ages. Their magic could be evolving into something else and getting a different read.”

Hyunjin nodded. “The trace is still pretty fresh, so if we want to see if we could catch them, we have to go now.”

“Do we even have a plan?” Jinsol asked as they walked away from the body.

“If this is Jiyeon or any of her clan members and I could get close enough, I might be able to get a read on who has a hold on Sooyoung unnie’s mind. And honestly, that’s the first thing I want right now. We can deal with everything else after.” Hyunjin ran her hand alongside the cars they passed. “It’d also be easier if we drove there.” She stopped at a black car and used a bit of magic to unlock it.

Jinsol smiled a little and got in the driver’s seat. “Between you and Chaewon, I don’t know who is more mischievous.” She started the car and headed off to the red light district of the city.

“Chaewon listens to Yerim more, so I think I win that category.” Hyunjin smirked from the back.

“Bless that sweet soul. I’m glad she’s there to put you two in time out when I’m not there,” Jinsol teased, trying to lift a bit of stress off.

Hyunjin rolled her eyes. “She puts all of us in time out.” She leaned back in her seat thinking about Heejin and Hyejoo too, and how much they all liked to bicker with each other.

“How are they by the way?” Haseul asked, concerned about her extended family that she didn’t get to see as often as she’d like.

Hyunjin sighed and looked out the window. “They went to a few witches, a few werewolves to find answers, but like before, what they have isn’t enough to figure anything out. They can’t even determine if it’s the same demons or different ones this time, or if it’s something entirely different.”

“Maybe if Codrin wasn’t such a coward, we could have asked him for some information,” Haseul spoke with a bit of annoyance in her tone. “I know this whole mess is taking up a lot of your time, but you guys should go see the rest of your coven.”

“I do check up on them, Chaewon too, but you know Yerim would have to fly there.”

“I meant all three of you together.”

“You know that’s impractical. We’ll go when this is all over. We have to make sure Hyejoo and Heejin still has a city to come home to first.” Hyunjin glanced at the streets. “Turn left here and the trail ends about half a mile,” she informed.

Jinsol let out a small growl. “If it’s at the club I think it’s going to be at, then we have all the permission to kill everyone in there. It’s just a gathering of the lowest scum in this city.”

“We’re not here for a bloodbath, Jinsol,” Haseul warned.

“No, but I’m hungry, so I guess there will be some blood shed.”

“On second thought, maybe if we caused a scene, the attention will be on us and then Hyunjin could go find the witch or something.” In all honesty, Haseul could use some self created chaos too.

Jinsol smirked at the idea and stopped the car at the corner of the street. “Front or back?”

Haseul started to walk. “I mean, if we want to cause a scene, it’d be through the front wouldn’t it?”

“And you call me mischievous,” Hyunjin mumbled as she followed the two.

Haseul yanked the door open to let Jinsol in first. The blonde didn’t waste any time to bare her fangs, grabbing the first person that was in reach and sank her teeth into the unlucky woman’s neck.

Jinsol tossed the woman to the side and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. She frowned at the bitter aftertaste of the blood. “Is there anyone here that doesn’t do drugs?” 

Screams echoed through the club as people started to scatter, but that didn’t bother the vampires as they took hold of whoever passed by them and drank them dry.

Hyunjin focused her energy on trying to sense where the magic she followed was coming from, but was distracted when arrows came at her, bouncing off of her invisible forcefield. She scoffed at their weak attempts and went back to following the trail that was being masked.

“Jinsol!” Hyunjin was distracted once more at an unfamiliar voice that rang above the noise.

The blonde vampire stopped where she was, blood dripping down her chin as she threw a body across the club. By now, most of the people were gone, left with low level vampires and some hunters scattered around the place.

A woman with long dark hair tied up in a high ponytail walked down the stairs. “We all know Yeeun let Sooyoung walk away that day your clan decided to visit one of our clubs. I wish I could do the same, but we both know that’s not going to happen.”

“We were friends once, Yujin.” Jinsol licked her fingers clean of blood as she watched the other vampire come towards them.

The other woman stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “We were.”

“Then please just walk away because I’m not here to play games,” Jinsol threatened.

“You know I’m not alone.”

“And you know what they did to Sooyoung!” Jinsol shouted out in anger.

There was a flinch of hurt in Yujin’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but you both chose your sides and you know where I stand. It’ll always be vampires over your pesky humans,” she scoffed.

“This isn’t about protecting humans. This is about keeping the balance and not exposing the supernatural,” Jinsol argued back. “You know how dangerous humans could be to us.”

“All the more reason to kill them,” Yujin snarled and stepped forward.

Jinsol did the same while Haseul stayed next to Hyunjin, knowing this wasn’t her place to step in.

“Stop,” Hyunjin called out. She then looked around the club before her eyes landed on the enemy vampire. “You are going to let us walk out because I just put up a barrier around us and you won’t be able to touch us even if you tried.”

Yujin crossed her arms. “You come to my club and kill my customers like that to just walk out. You vampires have no dignity refusing a fight like that.”

“Dignity was thrown out the window the moment you sat by and allowed a witch to fuck with Sooyoung’s head. That’s lower than low,” Jinsol growled. “Out of all people, you should know that there are no rules when it comes to Dreamcatcher, so we’re going to do what we want.”

Jinsol turned around and started to walk out the club followed by Haseul and Hyunjin. They got back into the car and drove off as they saw Yujin outside of the club watching them.

“The witch that has a hold on Sooyoung unnie is Luda,” Hyunjin announced as they got far from earshot.

Haseul turned around from the passenger seat. “Are you sure?”

Hyunjin nodded. “She was in the club, using some spell to mask her magic signature, but every witch has a very unique character of their own magic and I was able to sense a bit of it that leaked through.”

“Why didn’t we stay to find and just kill her?” Jinsol questioned, looking through the rear view mirror.

“Because she wasn’t alone and it’d be too much of a risk if she felt threatened and decided to mess with Sooyoung unnie even more.” Hyunjin fidgeted with her fingers trying to process the magic she just felt. It’s been a long time since she has come across such dark magic.


	40. EMOTIONS RUNNING HIGH

Yerim jolted awake. For a moment, she forgot where she was until her vision cleared and a small blonde was beside her. “Chae,” she breathed out.

“Hey, you’re okay.” Chaewon was kneeled by the couch Yerim was resting on. She helped the purple haired woman sit up before taking a seat next to her. “You finally going to tell me what’s been going on?”

Yerim looked around the room to see that eyes weren’t on her, but knew they were listening. “I have a headache,” she replied, rubbing her temples.

Chaewon let out a sigh. “I want to yell at you so bad right now, but I’m not going to do that. Can you at least tell me that you have things under control?”

“I have things under control,” Yerim reassured.

“Do you really?” Chaewon said with annoyance in her voice. “Because that didn’t really look like under control back there.”

Yerim looked up at the hybrid. “Then what do you want me to say? You said you weren’t going to yell.”

“I’m not yelling. I’m just fuckin’ annoyed with you.” Chaewon’s actions didn’t mirror her words as she placed an arm around Yerim’s shoulder and pulled her in close. “You’re so fuckin’ stupid,” she mumbled, planting a kiss on the witch’s head.

Yerim relaxed in the embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, but I thought we said no more secrets?” Chaewon said in a softer tone.

“There's just been so much going on and I didn’t realize when things started to get so bad, and I just ended up not knowing how to tell you and the rest of the coven.” Yerim closed her eyes. “That person, that thing from the other dimension, it’s been trying to get through.”

Chaewon shivered, remembering how different Yerim had looked in the circle. Her eyes were dark and had a smug evilness to her smile that it scared her to the bones. “This isn’t the first time,” she stated.

“No, but Choerry could help.”

“Going to see Choerry was what triggered it in the first place,” Chaewon argued back. “So you did see her?”

Yerim nodded. “I saw her and a few others. Seems like we’re meeting the same people. I saw Jungeun unnie and Vivi unnie there, but they weren’t them, of course.” She thought about mentioning Yves, but decided not to when she glanced over at Sooyoung, who was still out cold. Blinking back tears, she cleared her throat. “I can still feel her. My connection with Choerry is back like it was before.”

“But so is the connection with this other you in a different dimension,” Chaewon pointed out. “The person used some magic I’ve never seen. I just got lucky that the spell Choerry taught me in her world worked against it.”

“As long as it’s using me as a host to get through, it’s weaker against the magic of this world.” Yerim kept her eyes on Sooyoung, still thinking about what Choerry and the others must have gone through with losing a friend they considered family.

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“I know it seems like I had no control, but I did. Even if it was a little bit, I was still there, fighting.”

“But it gets stronger every time doesn’t it?” Chaewon searched Yerim’s eyes for the truth. “We should do a binding spell.”

Yerim let out a shaky breath. “I can’t, not yet anyways. We need Choerry’s help still.”

“But is it worth it?” The blonde took a hold of Yerim’s hand and pulled her up from her seat. They walked to the back of the shop as Chaewon put up a spell to block the others from hearing their conversation. “Tell me the truth, Yerim. Do you have this under control or not?”

Yerim bit her lip. “Sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I can handle it, but other times, god, other times I can’t tell if anything’s real,” she finally admitted as she felt tears come up, but quickly wiped them away. “We need her to even out the playing field.” Yerim was scared, but she was more scared knowing that the magic she felt from the enemy witches were dangerously strong and they were outnumbered.

“I know you won’t take no for an answer, so I only have one condition.” Chaewon ran her hand through her hair. “No more blood magic. I mean it. I don’t care how bad the situation gets, but no more blood magic.”

“It’s my fault Hyunjin used it.” Yerim finally remembering that the taller witch had used blood to save her against the imposter.

“Promise me, Yerim,” Chaewon said, desperately. “I can’t lose you.” She thought of Yerim and she thought of Sooyoung and Hyejoo. She thought of all her family members that have been so close to death and it tore her apart.

The purple haired witch snapped her attention back to her friend. “I promise.” In all honesty, she wasn’t sure if she could keep it if it meant it could save someone’s life, but she made the promise anyways.

Chaewon threw her arms around the slightly taller girl and hugged her tightly. “Hyunjin’s back,” she mumbled in Yerim’s shoulder.

“We take out Luda, we get Sooyoung unnie back,” They heard Hyunjin say as they walked to the front again.

“Is she the one draining witches of their mana?” Jungeun asked, never having had to deal with such powerful people.

“No, I followed that scent to the club, but then it disappeared, and then I only got a little hint of Luda’s. I can’t tell if she wanted me to know or if she was just stupid enough to stick around, knowing I was there.” Hyunjin’s eyes landed on her coven members as she made her way over. She wordlessly held Yerim’s hand and led her back to the couch to sit down. “The magic I sensed was darker than any other I have felt in ages.”

“Everything’s dark.” They all whipped their heads to the other couch to see Sooyoung lying there with her eyes open, staring up at the ceiling. She reached out when Vivi took the vampire into her arms.

“You’re okay,” Vivi spoke softly, rubbing circles on her back. She then quickly grabbed at Sooyoung’s wrist and frowned. Sooyoung had dug her nails hard enough into her arm to make it bleed, but it healed back, leaving red all over her arms.

Haseul and Jinsol immediately went over as Vivi got Sooyoung up from her seat. They made their way to the restroom, cramming themselves into the small space.

“I need to shower,” Jinsol murmured, slowly peeling off her bloody clothes and stepped into the tub.

Before this place was turned into a shop, it was a house owned by the Choi family back in the day. With no one but Yerim left alive, the shop became her coven and Haseul’s clan usual meeting place. It once was filled with happiness, but now, it just felt like it has seen too much blood shed.

“I think Sooyoung could use another one too.” Haseul used a small towel to wipe the sweat from the taller vampire’s forehead. She sat Sooyoung down on the covered toilet seat and helped her take off her shirt. Bending down, she planted a soft kiss on the woman’s bare shoulder. “I love you, Sooyoung,” she mumbled, finally allowing tears to fall. 

The stress of everything was suddenly hitting her with the four original members of her clan finally being alone together. Haseul stood back up, only to find herself in Vivi’s embrace. She couldn’t even relax in it when she let out a small sob. Haseul’s hand shot up to cover her mouth, not wanting anyone outside of this room to hear her. She let out a shaky breath after a moment and reached out to tuck hair behind Sooyoung’s ear. The woman looked up at her, but Haseul couldn’t tell what was going through the vampire’s mind.

They got Sooyoung into the tub after Haseul calmed down a bit and sat her down so that her back was against Jinsol’s front. Vivi sat on the edge of the tub after taking the shower head down from its place and helped wash away the blood that was on the both of them.

Haseul sat down where Sooyoung was just at and placed her head in her hands. “We have no idea where Dreamcatcher is.”

Vivi turned her head towards the leader. “We’ll find them.”

“We’re running out of time,” Haseul growled lowly out of frustration. “The longer Sooyoung is in this state, god, I don’t know if she’ll even,” her voice died in the back of her throat. She wanted to have hope, but nothing was going the way she wanted it to. Having Sooyoung’s life and sanity in question made it hard for her to think straight.

“We’ll get through this. We’ll get her back and we’ll help her through every step, no matter how long it takes,” Vivi tried to reassure, but in truth, she was just as scared.

Haseul glanced over at Sooyoung who had started to whimper in Jinsol’s arms as the blonde held her tighter. The short haired woman didn’t even try to stop the tears that were falling from her face, seeing Sooyoung in so much constant pain. She wasn’t usually emotional in front of others, but she didn’t have a problem showing her vulnerable side to her family.

Haseul stood up and grabbed a towel, handing it to Vivi once they were done with the shower. She took another one and gave it to Jinsol before taking a step back, just watching the three of them take care of each other.

Once upon a time, Haseul never thought she could love anyone. After losing her sister, she did everything in her power to try to find Yeojin’s lost soul once she became immortal. It was her life mission that almost tore her apart. She was no leader. She was no good to anyone, but they needed her, and she needed them.

She would die before anyone took them away from her.


	41. HASEUL'S PAST

1654

Haseul held her breath as she sat in a small crawl space under the house with her hand clasped over her sister’s mouth. Dust was falling through the cracks on top of her as men walked right above where they were.

“Where is she?” They heard a man that went by the name of Declan hiss out. It wasn’t his real name of course, but it was a name given to him by higher power apparently.

They heard loud noises as things were being thrown and shoved to the side. Their mother screamed while their father pleaded with the man.

“Please, she’s not here,” their father tried to persuade them. “I have sent her off with her sister.”

“You let a witch get away? She will destroy everything like how witches like her always do.”

“She will be of no more harm. I swe—,” their father’s voice was cut off, followed by a loud thud and their mother screaming again, but this time, her voice was filled with more pain than terror.

The screaming stopped after a few seconds as it was followed by another thud and then silence.

Haseul tried to keep the sob from escaping her mouth and held onto Yeojin tighter.

A drop of warm liquid fell onto her forehead from above as she used her free hand to wipe at it, only to pull away to see her fingers covered in red.

Yeojin could see where her parents bodies were with how cracks of light didn’t come through parts of the floorboard. Her breathing became uneven and she couldn’t help the energy that surged through her body.

Haseul gave her a pleading look, but her sister couldn’t control it.

Yeojin raised a hand and the floor above them started to crack until it exploded, sending wood in every direction, but none hit them with a shield Yeojin had put around the two.

The men above yelled out in surprise and backed away.

“Yeojin, don’t!” Haseul shouted, grabbing at her sister, but the smaller girl didn’t listen.

Yeojin climbed up to the top, followed by Haseul. They couldn’t help the tears that spilled, seeing their dead parents lying motionless on the ground.

The small witch raised a hand up at the three men before her. She turned her hand over so that her palm was facing the ceiling and then made a fist, watching two of the men fall to their knees. 

Declan, the man in the middle, stood there smiling. “So predictable.”

Yeojin frowned, still keeping her hand up as the two men collapsed, struggling to breathe. “You want to kill me for being a witch when you’re using magic of a witch to protect yourself. How ironic.”

Declan let out a laugh. “I don’t want to kill every witch, just ones that won’t join the resistance.”

“What you’re doing is no resistance,” Haseul spoke up this time. “You’re nothing more but a bloodsucker pretending to be a savior for humanity.”

“Oh, but I am saving the humans. I’m giving them immortality.” The man bared his fangs as Haseul pushed Yeojin behind her.

Declan pulled out a knife and hurled it at the two, but Yeojin stepped to the side and deflected it with magic. Throwing it back at him, the knife stopped inches from his face before falling to the ground.

A tall young girl stepped through their front door with a hand up as well, followed by an older looking woman with long dark hair.

“Lena,” Yeojin whispered out.

“Yeojin,” the girl called back. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can be together if you’d just join.”

“Join what? My parents are dead because of this man! ” Yeojin raised her voice in anger. “Immortality is just living forever through hell with every memory you’d want to forget some day.”

“No, Yeojin. Immortality is how we’re gonna change the world,” Lena countered back.

Before Yeojin could answer, a wave of the other woman’s hand brought her down to her knees as spikes were thrown out of her sleeves.

Yeojin couldn’t react fast enough when Haseul got in front of her again. Haseul stood her ground, feeling pain throughout her body as her legs shook. Feeling blood drip, Haseul looked up, glaring at the woman.

The woman chanted a spell when Yeojin’s voice was reciting one of her own. They threw out their hands at the same time only for everyone in the room to be thrown off their feet.

Haseul groaned as she felt her back hit the floor. Her hand went to her stomach and she looked down to see two impaled there and one a little farther up on her ribcage.

“Your sister won’t last long. Those weapons are poisoned,” the woman said, getting up to her feet. “Humans are so weak.”

Yeojin crawled over to Haseul, but kept her eyes on the enemies.

“Yeojin, please,” Lena begged. “Just come with us.”

“Do you know what happens when you become a bloodsucker?” Yeojin asked with no emotion in her voice. “That man you call your savior is a liar,” she then spat out. “You think you get to keep your magic? Once you turn, that’s it for you. You’ll be immortal, but the magic that runs through your veins will fade, and you’ll become nothing but a monster who’ll never see the sun again.”

“You’re wrong. We’re going to cleanse the earth of the weak and then save those who are strong and willing,” Lena tried to convince herself by repeating what has been said to her so many times before.

Declan smiled at his young follower’s words and began to walk towards Yeojin and Haseul. He bent down in front of them with Yeojin glaring at him.

“Your sister will die soon unless you join us.” Declan offered a hand out.

Yeojin looked at the man and then down at the hand. She reached out, placing her own hand in his and watched as he tried to yank it back while screaming out in pain as it sizzled.

“Your protection spell can only get you so far,” Yeojin growled and was about to place a hand on his head when she was thrown back.

The woman stepped forward and walked their direction. She stopped next to Haseul, who was struggling to breathe as poison began to work on shutting down her system. 

Yeojin tried getting up, but the woman raised her hand, bringing the smaller girl back down on her knees.

Bending down, the woman stroked Haseul’s cheek and smiled. “Such a strong will to live when you should have already been dead with how much poison there is in these little things.” Her hand gripped one of the spikes in Haseul’s stomach and shoved it in deeper.

Haseul let out a pained scream and tried to thrash around, but the woman placed a knee over her shoulder to keep her from moving too much.

“Unnie!” Yeojin cried out. She tried to move again, but the magic that had a hold on her was too strong.

The woman then yanked out the spike as Haseul let out another scream. She placed the weapon in front of her face, watching the blood drip from it before putting it next to her mouth and licked the thick liquid off of it. She then dropped the spike down to the side, letting it clink on the floor before her hand went to the spike lodged in between Haseul’s ribs.

“You see, little one, you’ve gotten your information wrong.” The woman looked over at Yeojin with a smile. “Bloodsuckers and witches are separate beings, but what if there’s a way to be immortal and still have all the benefits of being a witch?”

“What are you saying?” Declan asked now that he was up on his feet again.

The woman turned back around to face the man. “Oh, Declan, Declan, Declan,” she repeated his name. “Such a scary man, scaring people, sucking their blood dry. You’re in way over your head thinking that you’re some savior when you’re the one that’s going to need saving from me.”

“What are you talking about, you bitch,” Declan growled out, advancing towards the woman.

The woman pulled out a spike harshly, not caring about Haseul’s screams as she tossed it to her other hand. “I don’t even need magic to kill you.” She pointed the weapon at the man and then bared her own fangs.

“What? How?” Declan stammered over his words.

“Ever heard of a hybrid?” The woman smirked and quickly threw the spike, hitting her target at the side of the neck.

Declan’s hand went up to the spike and quickly pulled it out, but the wound didn’t heal. The effects of the poison hit right away as he started to feel numb.

The woman approached him as Lena stood by the door, not moving a muscle as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

“Sunmi, please,” the man begged.

The said woman tilted her head and gave out another smile. “Men should never be in charge.” She quickly placed both hands on the side of his head and gave it a twist. Before his body could hit the ground, she held onto one shoulder, the other gripped onto his hair as she ripped his head clean off. She let the body drop and let out an exhale. “Now where was I?”

Sunmi was about to turn back around when Yeojin had her hand out. The woman raised her own so that her arm was in front of her at a 90 degree angle to block the magic. Yeojin was about to cast another spell when she cried out in pain.

“Such a shame that I’m going to have to kill you, little one. Such a powerful little witch.” Sunmi exhaled as if she was deep in thought. “I wonder how long your soul could be tormented for before it drives you completely insane.” She clicked her teeth. “I guess I’ll never know, but it’d still be fun anyways, right?”

“Unnie, please,” Lena called out from behind.

Sunmi turned again to face the tall girl. “Oh, Lena, darling. You’re going to have to let go of everyone and everything from your past if you want to move forward.” She then let out a sigh, seeing the fear behind the young girl’s eyes. “Lena, please step outside.”

The tall girl stayed in her spot and made eye contact with Yeojin before doing what she was told.

Without warning, Sunmi turned around and threw out a hand, throwing the small girl into a wall as she fell onto the ground in a heap.

Haseul couldn’t even cry out for her sister. She couldn’t talk, she couldn’t move a muscle as tears spilled out. She didn’t even remember when her mind started to fade. The last thing she saw was the woman kneeling down beside her sister as she drifted off into unconsciousness. 

Haseul jolted up with a scream, but her body hit something soft as she collapsed back down. Her vision was so blurry no matter how many times she blinked and her insides felt like they were being ripped apart. She didn’t stop screaming out of pain until she could make out a soft voice humming next to her ear.

Calming down a bit, she focused on the voice as her senses slowly came back to her. Everything felt so overwhelming, like waves crashing against rocks as she was pulled under water.

For a moment, she forgot where she was until the ceiling of her house came into view and her body shook with sobs. She tried to sit up, but was too weak as she felt arms wrap around her. For some reason, she felt safe in these arms that didn’t belong to anyone she knew, because everyone she knew was dead.

“I’m so sorry for what you had to go through, love,” the calming voice sounded so far away.

Haseul reached out instinctively when the person held onto hers, softly running a thumb over the back of Haseul’s hand.

“I’m sorry for what I have done to you,” the quiet voice spoke again. “But if it’s revenge that you need, I can help you, but that’s not what you need. If you want help to find your sister’s soul, I’ll be by your side.”

“Wh— why are you helping me,” Haseul’s teeth chattered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Because your sister helped me once and I won’t allow some hybrid to curse her soul for eternity. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Who are you?” There was so many unexplainable emotions running through Haseul that she didn’t know what to do.

The woman holding her gave out a gentle smile. “My name is Vivi.”


	42. HASEUL'S PAST: PART II

1654

“You should have let me die,” Haseul sobbed out in anger, trashing her own house where her family still laid motionless.

“Haseul, please,” Vivi begged, standing off to the side, trying not to interfere with the newborn vampire, knowing just how dangerous it could be in such a vulnerable state.

“You have no right to say my name!” Haseul yelled, throwing a chair across the room, watching as it smashed against the wall.

Vivi furrowed her eyebrows out of sympathy for what the other woman had to go through. “That hybrid was going to drag your soul to hell. While Yeojin’s soul is still wandering this earth, there would have been no way for anyone to come save you,” the older vampire tried to explain why she did what she did. “I know souls of a vampire end up becoming nothing when we finally meet our end, but becoming nothing is better than being tormented for all eternity. And I’m sorry if I didn’t give you a choice.”

Haseul stood there, fuming, but let those words sink in. Her shoulders suddenly shook as sobs took over again. Slowly walking to her sister’s body, Haseul dropped to her knees, pulling the small girl into her lap.

“I don’t want this,” Haseul cried. Every sense and emotion was heightened to the max, where she found it hard to control anything that was happening to her with how many thoughts that were bombarding her mind.

Vivi walked over with a soft sigh and bent down besides the woman. She kept at a distance to let Haseul know that she respected her space and let her grieve the way she wanted to. Vivi bit her lip knowing that she’d have to cut the moment short though.

“You need to feed,” Vivi gently said.

Haseul’s cries had ceased to quiet sniffling as she sat there, staring off at nothing.

“You will die if you don’t feed.” Vivi stayed rooted in her spot, although she wanted to go over to comfort the woman.

“Then just let me,” Haseul spoke with no emotions.

“She put a curse on Yeojin. Her soul is wandering aimlessly with no understanding of what’s happening. If you don’t want to live, then that’s fine, but I’m going to find your sister with or without you.” Vivi had to be more firm this time. She had to make Haseul understand.

Haseul kept her stare elsewhere for a moment before turning to Vivi. “I’ll have to kill others,” she stated more than questioned.

“No, you can just drink a little blood at a time from different people, but you’re going to need a lot since you’re a new vampire.” Vivi had made sure she never turned a human, but she had been drawn to the woman before her. Though she has known Yeojin for quite some time, she kept her distance away from Haseul, not knowing how she’d react to her sister befriending a vampire.

Haseul felt her fangs start to come out at the mention of blood. She turned her head away from Yeojin, who had red all over her. Her whole house with filled with blood.

She had to get out.

Haseul gently placed her sister down and stood up. “I, I need,” she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Vivi stood up as well and took a chance to place her hand out for the other woman to take. “Please let me help you.” She knew what Haseul meant even if Haseul didn’t know exactly what she herself needed.

Haseul looked at the hand, not making eye contact with Vivi before hesitantly placing her own onto the vampire that sired her. For some reason, she felt safe with the woman who had just cursed her with a fate of immortality that she never wanted.

Vivi gave her a soft smile as they made their way out of the house. “All the sounds and smells and everything else about the outside will get a bit overwhelming,” she warned. “It may be hard to control your hunger. If you don’t want to kill, I can stop you, if you’d like.”

Haseul thought about it for a quick second before tilting her head. “No, I don’t want you to stop me.”

“As you wish.”

Vivi opened the door and led Haseul through as she took her first step out into her new life.

Like what Vivi had just said, the outside world felt a lot different than inside those four walls. The wind that hit Haseul’s body felt like millions of needles prickling her skin and all her other senses felt like they uncomfortably heightened with no words to describe it.

By now, Haseul’s fangs were all the way out and she could already smell blood pooled up in individual warm bodies. The heartbeats of humans were steady, not knowing what was coming for them.

Haseul broke out into a sprint without warning as Vivi followed closely from behind. The first person came into sight with Haseul pounced on the tall man from behind, sinking her teeth into the side of his neck. He screamed like they all do and then was already dead by the time he hit the ground.

Haseul let out a yell with blood dripping down her chin as the people around her ran in panic. She grabbed a woman that got too close, yanking her towards and snapping her neck before drinking her blood dry. She then went after another and another until she finally felt her senses lessen down a notch and she was able to control her hunger a little more than before.

Without any direction, she somehow ended back at her house. There was so much pent up anger but when she remembered why she was in this situation in the first place, she couldn’t help but fall down to her knees and held her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. She tried to scream all of the emotional pain out, but it wouldn’t stop.

Vivi again, bent down beside the woman, keeping a small distance between them. She didn’t say a word as she watched Haseul breakdown in front of her. Being alone during a transition was dangerous when nothing made sense and Vivi didn’t want Haseul to go through that. It hasn’t been long since she herself turned, but when she did, she was on her own. The things that happened to her mind without guidance almost drove her insane. She was so close to losing it if it wasn’t for the help of Yeojin. Vivi owed the younger witch her life. Helping Haseul was the least she could do.

The two stayed where they were for a few more moments until Haseul couldn’t help but blindly reach out. She didn’t know what she wanted or what she was doing, but when Vivi took it as a sign to get closer and hold the young vampire in her arms, Haseul relaxed in her embrace, quietly crying.

“Shh, it’s alright, love,” Vivi said in a soothing tone, stoking the woman’s hair. “We will lay your family to rest where they no longer have to feel pain and then we will do as you please.”

“I want to kill that woman,” Haseul spoke through gritted teeth, having Sunmi’s face burned into her mind.

“I understand. You are angry,” Vivi started and ran small circles on Haseul’s back. “But that anger will lessen and your love for your sister will overtake that feeling.” She didn’t want hate to be the first thing Haseul went after. Going down that path was always messy and she didn’t want that for someone who she knew had a life full of love.

“Yeojin,” Haseul whispered out in between sniffles. “I should have been born a witch in the family instead of her. She didn’t deserve this.”

“No one deserves this, but it’s what happened. Life is unpredictable and nothing is forever, but I can promise you that I’ll be by your side for as long as you need me.”

Haseul pulled away from the embrace a bit to look at Vivi in the eyes. “Why? You don’t even know me.”

Vivi placed a hand on the side of Haseul’s face. “Because I sired you. You are my responsibility and right now, I owe everything to your sister, but I hope that one day, the both of us will want to start a clan together because maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to not be alone.” For the first time in her vampire life, Vivi felt a connection to someone. She has been on her own for so long that she has almost forgotten how it felt like to even have a meaningful conversation with a person.

Haseul searched the woman’s eyes. Just a moment ago, they were strangers, but now, Haseul couldn’t help but feel like she has found purpose again. “You won’t leave me?” She asked, almost in a childlike tone.

Giving her a gentle smile, Vivi pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head. “Only if you want me to.”

“I don’t want you to.” Haseul didn’t understand why she felt safe with this vampire. It might have been because she was sired by her or maybe it was something more.

“Just because I sired you, it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with me forever. You always have a choice. You might feel the need to be around me for some time because of the effects, but once you’re no longer a newborn, you’re free to do as you please,” Vivi explained as if she read what was on Haseul’s mind.

Haseul nodded, not fully understanding anything, but she knew Vivi wouldn’t cause any harm to her. It almost scared her how much she trusted this woman she had just met. She figured it must have been the effects and she’d figure everything out once it faded.

“Up now. The sun will be out soon.” Vivi stood and held a hand out. “We will come back for your family, but right now, you need to rest.”

Haseul took it without hesitation this time and didn’t let go as they held hands, walking to a destination she didn’t know. She looked up at the sky, noticing it changing colors as the sun was ready to peek through. Frowning, she thought about how she would never see the sun rise again when it was one of her favorite times of the day, watching it come up with her sister by her side. They would climb a hill, one close to home, but one not a lot of people knew about. They would lie on the grass with the cool breeze hitting their skin as they talked about everything and nothing. She would never have that moment again. Her past was just that, her past, and today was the start of her new life.


	43. BREAKING RULES

“They wouldn’t be that sloppy,” Haseul spoke into the device she had on speakerphone.

“No, but with how confident they have been two steps ahead of us this whole time, anyone’s bound to get sloppy,” Jihyo’s voice could be heard from the other line. “Seems like they’re so sure they’ll win this little game of theirs that they don’t really care who’s spotting them now. And not to mention the newcomers coming in from outside of the city.”

Vivi huffed out air and crossed her legs. “Or it could be a trap.”

“Either way, they’re not really hiding their tracks, so we at least know where some of their activities are,” Jungeun pointed out, leaning back onto Jiwoo who had a hold of her from behind as they sat on the arm of one of the couches.

“Then what’s the plan?” Jinsol asked with Sooyoung lying on her lap.

“I have my team scouting out the area. Right now, it just looks like some members of Dreamcatcher and their low level vampires are just roaming the place. It’s probably just a show of power,” Jihyo informed them. “I’m not doing anything right now just because they haven’t caused a scene yet and I don’t want to just attack when there’s civilians everywhere.”

“I need to leave.”

They all turned to Sooyoung who whispered the same thing she has been saying earlier.

Vivi bent down in front of the woman who was trying to sit up. “You’re not going anywhere, love.” She brushed some hair out of Sooyoung’s face and tucked it behind her ear.

“You, you don’t understand.” Sooyoung’s voice got frantic as she looked around the room, but didn’t make eye contact with anyone.

“I can let her sleep with a spell again,” Chaewon suggested, getting off of the stool by the counter but was stopped by a hand grabbing at her arm.

“No,” Hyunjin disagreed. “Maybe we don’t understand.”

Chaewon turned back to her. “What are you talking about?”

“Maybe Sooyoung unnie does have to leave. Maybe she knows something we don’t.” Hyunjin was trying to think of why the vampire kept saying the same things over and over. There had to be a reason.

“A mind manipulator has a hold of her. Luda, the witch that likes to mess with people.” Chaewon didn’t want to listen. She didn’t want to put one of her mothers in danger.

“Hyunjin could be right,” Yerim spoke up. “The mind is a tricky thing. Maybe Sooyoung unnie is trying to hold on, trying to get to us, but we’re not listening.”

“Or this could all be a trap.” Chaewon threw her hands up in the air. “I’m not letting Ma walk out of this shop in the state she’s in,” she argued back.

“We’ll be right there with her.”

This time, everyone turned their attention to Jinsol.

“You too, Mom?” Chaewon questioned in shock, thinking that if it were anyone, it would have been Jinsol on her side.

“Honey, there’s not many options right now,” Jinsol tried to reason while holding onto Sooyoung to keep her still. “This could be nothing, just her talking nonsense, or she could be wanting to lead us somewhere. It’s better if we do something about it rather than just ignoring it.”

Chaewon sighed out of defeat. “I’m not letting Ma out of my sight.”

“I was hoping you’d come along anyways. Be best if we have a witch with us if something goes wrong.” Jinsol held Sooyoung close, but the other vampire kept whimpering, making her emotions falter every time.

“I can have some of my pack follow too since they’re already patrolling around the city,” Jihyo’s voice came through, reminding everyone that their wolf leader was still on the phone. “The thing is though, we have to be discreet and not interact with each other outside. The Council has more eyes out there than I do. The magic that has been used, leaving trails of the dark arts is something they’re not fond of. I know that you guys use it for good, but they don’t see it like that. There has been too much chaos and it’s too difficult to track.”

“Well, fuck the Council. Where the hell are they when we’re doing all the work here to this city from crumbling down?” Vivi growled out angrily. “They promote this unity, keeping things in order between all factions, yet their own people, their hunters have been compromised.”

“Believe me, I understand. I work right under them, but they’re the ones giving me the tools to operate safely. And as rigid as they are, there is a method to their control and how this city has been afloat for so long.” Jihyo could be heard sighing over the line. “I’m not saying that whatever they say and do is right, because everyone knows I also work out of bounds to the rules, but I wouldn’t want to make an enemy out of them.”

Yerim scoffed. “That’s just impossible then. There’s no way we’ll win this fight without the dark arts. They see things so black and white when nothing ever is. Just because something is dark doesn’t mean that it’s evil. It always depends on the person. We always have a choice. The Council knew my family and what they’ve done for this place with the same magic.” She herself has been using it for so long. People have judged her, but she knew that in the end, she always used her magic for good.

“You’re right, the Council did know your family, but they don’t know you that well after you refused their offer to work under them,” Jihyo added on.

Yerim shook her head out of annoyance. “And why would I work for them after what they did? Or what they didn’t do anyways,” she growled lowly out of anger. “I’m all alone because they would rather save their asses than help my family when they needed it. After everything they’ve sacrificed for the Council and that’s how they repay them?” Yerim felt an arm going around her waist, turning to see Hyunjin by her side. “They can do whatever they want to me, but I’m going to continue to do what I want and what I think is going to save all of us whether they like it or not.”

“I knew you would say something like that,” Jihyo started. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much, but I am sorry for what happened to your family. I’m only telling you this to warn you, but I know the only way that we’ll get anywhere with Dreamcatcher is if we break the rules and I sure as hell know that every single one of us is good at that.” Shuffling could be heard from the Jihyo’s side before she spoke again. “Like I said, the Council sent my pack around the city to patrol, but I’m sending some to your aid because this is the only way that we’re going to get things done.”

Haseul smiled at the response as she kept quiet, already knowing that Jihyo was someone who played things fair, but stepped out of line when she needed to. Her clan has encountered many werewolf packs throughout their immortal lives, but none were like this one and she couldn’t be more proud to have friends like this when werewolves were once just enemies to them.

“Sana will be happy to hear,” Chaewon spoke softly, knowing how much the werewolf spirit she kept by her side missed her family.

Jihyo hummed at the mention of the blonde’s name. “When this whole ordeal gets taken care of, you think you can come by the cabin? I mean, I understand that you have other responsibilities first, like Hyejoo, but it’s almost the anniversary of when Sana,” she stopped in her sentence and cleared her throat.

“Yeah, of course,” Chaewon replied right away. “I’ve been meaning to visit with Hyejoo anyways, but you know what happened to that. Hye keeps talking about how much she misses the woods and your pack.”

“We miss Hyejoo too,” Jihyo chuckled. “Well, I should get going now. Please call Dahyun if you need anything. Her and the rest of the school meal club will be the ones in your area,” she said, referring to the youngest three of her pack.

“We appreciate the help, Jihyo,” Haseul finally spoke up.

“Likewise.”

And with that, Jihyo hung up, leaving everyone in the shop to figure out what to do next.

“Are we sure it’s Luda that had a hold on Sooyoung?” Jinsol asked since there has been different culprits named.

“At first, we thought it was Jiyeon since I’m sure she’s the one stealing mana from witches, but the magic signature I got in the club belonged to Luda,” Hyunjin reasoned. “I guess we can’t be sure because they can be masking it somehow. Either way, I plan on destroying that whole coven.”

“Usually, I’d be against the killing of humans, but are they even people at this point?” Yerim rubbed her temples, hating that it has come to this point. “What’s even going to happen to us when the Council finds out? They work with the police. We could go to prison for this.”

Chaewon rolled her eyes at the mention of the Council again. “Oh please, you think we won’t be able to cover our tracks? They can know what we’ve done but they’ll never find the evidence.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better,” Yerim mumbled. As much as she despised Jiyeon’s coven, her morals wavered with the bloodshed she knew she would have to spill.

“Sooyoung’s getting restless,” Jinsol spoke softly, stroking the brunette’s hair who now had her head rested on Jinsol’s shoulder.

Vivi took ahold of Sooyoung’s hand to get her to stop trying to dig her fingernails into her arms. The woman kept muttering words as Vivi wrapped an arm around her waist.

Watching the scene from the side, Haseul looked away, hating to see her clan so vulnerable. “We let Sooyoung lead us to wherever. If the trail goes nowhere, then so be it, but I’m really hoping that we find something, just anything,” her voice got desperate at the end.

“If we’re really doing this, then I’m going for sure and I know you’re going, Mom.” Chaewon nodded her head at Jinsol.

Jinsol nodded back. “One more person would be good, but I don’t think any more than that would be ideal since traveling in a smaller group right now might be better to keep off of the radar.”

“I want to be there,” Haseul spoke up, feeling like she hasn’t spent that much time with Sooyoung as of late since she’s been running around the place to get things done. She then turned to Jiwoo and Jungeun. “You said that you’re old clan is back, but they’re not on either sides.”

The two younger vampires nodded in response.

“I know they don’t want to work with our clan, but would they work with you two?” Haseul asked.

Jiwoo held onto Jungeun’s hand. “What do you want from them?”

“We have this part of the city covered if Dreamcatcher decides to get bold, but we don’t have security everywhere. Jihyo said that newcomers are coming into the city. We need to regulate that somehow. We can’t be going up against the current clans plus even more, whether they’re newborns for Jiu’s collection of vampires she sired.”

“So you want us to ask them to kill whoever comes in?” Jiwoo asked for clarification.

“Yes, only if they can and they have to play it smart to not draw attention to themselves.” Haseul drummed her fingers on the table between the couches. “This will benefit us as much as it will benefit them. No one wants newcomers infiltrating the city like pests thinking they can take us over.”

Jiwoo bit her lip, not being fond of the idea of seeing her old clan again. “I can see what I can do, but I can’t guarantee anything.” She glanced at Jungeun. “We haven’t seen them in so long that I don’t know how they operate anymore.”

“That’s fine. I’m just trying to see if we can get help outside from our small group, but if others can’t see the big picture, then that’s on them.” Haseul stood up from her spot on the couch across from her clan and walked over, kneeling in front of Sooyoung. Caressing the taller vampires cheek, Haseul leaned in and planted a kiss on them. “We should get going soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading~ @loonachoz on the bird app


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